tihv<xry  of  Che  theological  ^emmarjo 

PRINCETON  •  NEW  JERSEY 

PURCHASED  BY  THE 
HAMILL  MISSIONARY  FUND 


BV  3265  .S74  1896 
Stewart,  Robert,  1839-1915 
Life  and  work  in  India 


1956 


THE   HEART  OF   THE   PUNJAB, 

Showing  the  Mission  Field  of  the  United  Presbyterian  Church  of  North  America,  and  parts  of  other  Mission  Fields. 


(^AUG    8    1956 

Life  and  Work  inJndia 


AN   ACCOUNT    OF    THE 

CONDITIONS,  METHODS,   DIFFICULTIES.    RESULTS,  FUTURE 
PROSPECTS   AND   REFLEX   INFLUENCE 

OF 

MISSIONARY  LABOR   IN  INDIA 

ESPECIALLY  IN  THE 

PUNJAB   Mission   of  the   united   Presbyterian   Church   of 
NORTH  America 


/6y 
ROBERT  STEWART,   D.  D. 

ONE  OF    THE  WORKERS 


PHILADELPHIA 

PEARL  PUBLISHING  CO. 

i8q6 


COPYRIGHT,  1896,  BY    ROBERT   STEWART 


PRINTED    8V 

GEO.     S.    FERGUSON    CO., 

PRINTERS      &      ELEOTROTYPERS, 

PHILADELPHIA,  PA.,  U.   S.   A. 


PREFACE 


npHIS  book  deals  with  both  the  facts  and  the  theory  of 
missions.  It  presents  the  surroundings,  the  details 
and  the  results  of  Christian  pioneer  work,  especially  as 
they  are  exhibited  in  the  great  field  of  modern  missions 
— India.  And  it  strives  to  do  so  in  a  fuller  and  more 
systematic  form  than  that  of  any  single  volume  now  be- 
fore the  public. 

A  concrete  case  is  made  the  chief  source  of  ilkistra- 
tion,  so  as  to  give  unity,  vividness  and  point  to  the  nar- 
rative ;  and  naturally  the  example  selected  for  this  pur- 
pose is  that  one  with  which  the  writer  is  most  familiar 
and  in  reference  to  which  he  can  speak  from  personal 
observation  and  experience.  But  this  case  is  largely  a 
typical  one,  and  in  all  its  main  features  resembles  that  of 
most  other  missions  in  India ;  while,  in  many  of  its 
characteristics,  it  bears  a  strong  likeness  to  foreign 
missions  in  every  part  of  the  world.  Moreover,  dif- 
ferences, when  they  do  exist,  are  frequently  noted. 
Hence  the  author  expects  his  book  to  be  read  with  in- 
terest, not  only  by  members  of  his  own  church,  but  also 
by  Christians  of  every  name. 

Considerable  attention  is  given  to  missionary  problems, 
and  the  arguments,  or  materials,  required  for  their  solu- 
tion are  frequently  presented.  Especially  does  the 
writer  point  out  the  difficulties  which   lie  in  the  way  of 

(3) 


4  PREFACE 

the  development  of  a  mature,  self-supporting,  self-gov- 
ernine  church  in  non-Christian  lands,  and  show  the  need 
of  the  removal  of  these  obstructions  if  the  great  mission- 
ary  enterprise  is  to  accomplish  its  glorious  end  with 
rapid  speed. 

A  copious  index  has  been  added  to  the  volume  to 
make  it  more  useful  as  a  manual,  or  a  book  of  reference. 

And  now,  having  completed  his  task  conscientiously 
and  as  carefully  as  he  could,  the  author  sends  out  his 
book  to  the  world  in  the  hope  and  with  the  prayer  that, 
through  the  blessing  of  God,  it  may  be  made  the  humble 
means  of  advancing  in  some  degree  that  important  cause 
to  which  it  is  devoted. 

Robert  Stewart. 

St.  Clairsvillk,  Ohio, 
December,  1895. 


CONTENTS 


MAP — Heart  of  the  Punjab  and  U.  P.  Mission  Field Frontispiece 


CHAPTER  I — Approaches  to  the  Field 
Ordinary  Routes — Lines  of   Steamers — Passage  Taken — Description   of  Journey — 
Liverpool,  Gibraltar,  Red   Sea,  Bombay — By  Rail  in  India — Lines  on  tke  Pacitic 
— Projected  Routes  by  Arabia  or  the  Euphrates — The  Transcaspian  Line.. .  .9-20 

CHAPTER  H— Outside  Political  Conditions 
China  and   Baluchistan — Burmese    War^Border    Warfare — Manipur    Rebellion — 
The  Mahdi — Dhulip  Singh — Russia's  Progress  in  Asia — English  Fear  of  Russia 
— Afghanistan  a  Buffer — What  we  Dreaded  Most 21-27 

CHAPTER  HI— British  Rule  in  India 
The    Machine,    Civil  and  Military — The  Viceroys :    Lytton,   Dufiferin,    Lansdowne 
and   Elgin — The    Lieut. -Governors    of  the    Punjab — Object    of   British    Rule    in 
India — How  it  Helps  and  How  it  Obstructs  Mission  Work 28-39 

CHAPTER   IV— Climatic   Conditions 
The    Monsoons — The    Hot    Season — The    Rains — Hail,    Dust    Storms   and    Earth- 
quakes   40-43 

CHAPTER  V— Sanitary  Conditions 
Unfavorable  to  Health — Deaths  by  Violence — Experience  with  Snakes  and  Scor- 
pions— Diseases — Cliolera,   Small-pox  and    Fever — Health    Resorts — Dharmsala, 
Murree  and  Kashmir — Their  Drawbacks 44-54 

CHAPTER  VI — Domestic  and  Social  Conditions 
Houses — Furniture — Clothing — Food — Punkhas — Vermin — Servants — Separation  of 
I      Families — Homes  for  Children — Salaries — Recreations — Intercourse  with  Anglo- 
Indians — With  Travelers — With  Natives SS-'^S 

CHAPTER  VII— Financial  Conditions 

Ordinary  Appropriations — Gifts  for  Special  Objects — For  Permanent  Improvements 

— The    Stewart   Fund — The   Q.   C.   Fund — Help  from   the  Women's  Board  and 

Sabbath    Schools — Contributions  in   India   Itself — Government    Aid — Favorable 

Exchange , 69-73 

CHAPTER  VIII— Conditions  of  Travel  and  Communication 
Metaled    Roads — Mud    Roads    and    Bypaths — Railways — Dak    Garies — Tongas — 
Ekkas— Dolies — Dandies — Shigrams — Tum-tum — Control  of  Public  Conveyances 
— Traveling  Outfit — Inns — The  India  Postal  Service — Its  Arrangements  and  Ad- 
vantages   74^84 

(5) 


6  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  IX— Linguistic  Conditions 

Many  Tongues  in  India— The  Hindustani — The  Punjabi — The  Acquisition  of  Lan- 
guages— Conditions  of  Success 85-88 

CHAPTER  X — Missionary  Neighbors 

Some  Unpleasant  Facts — More  of  a  Different  Character — Aid  in  Evangelism,  Educa- 
tion   and    Christian     Conflicts — Inter-Mission    Conferences    and    Organizations 

The  Presbyterian  Alliance — Presbyterian  Union — Christian  Literature 89-93 

CHAPTER  XI— Our  Special  Field 

Missions  in  India — Their  History — Number  of  Laborers — Division  of  the  Land — 
Missionary  Comity — The  Punjab— Missions  Established  There— The  United 
Presbyterian  Field— Its  Growth  and  Size — Points  of  Historical,  Geographical, 
Commercial  and  Scientific  Interest 94-106 

CHAPTER  XII— Our  Special  Field— Its  People 

Punjabies  and  the  Inhabitants  of  India — Their  Race  and  Physical  Characteristics — 
Their  Occupations,  Village  Life,  Wages,  Clothing  and  Religion — A  Compara- 
tive Census — Modern  Hinduism  Described — Hinduism  in  the  Punjab — Sikhism 
— The  Jains — The  Buddhists — The  Arya  Samaj — The  Parsees — The  Muham- 
madans  and  Muhammadanism — Low-Caste  People — Europeans,  Eurasians  and 
Native  Christians 107-128 

CHAPTER  XIII — Organization  for  Work 

Missionaries  not  Independent — Church  Courts  and  Missionary  Societies — The 
Missionary  Association,  its  History,  Constitution,  Powers  and  Methods — The 
Missionary's  Individual  Authority — His  Relation  to  Native  Agents 129-139 

CHAPTER  XIV— Secular  Work 
Learning  the  Vernacular  Language — Financial  Business — Sub-Treasurers'  Work^ 
Superintendents' — General    Treasurer's — Purchase    of    Land — Building     Houses 
— Repairs — Teaching    and    Managing    Schools — Medical  Work — Remedies  Dis- 
cussed  140-147 

CHAPTER  XV— Evangelistic  Work— I 
Aim  of  Missions — General    Principles — Home    Religion — Employer's   Influence — 
Social  Intercourse — Mistakes  Corrected — Bazar  Preaching — Melas 148—161 

CHAPTER  XVI— Evangelistic  Work— II 
The  Eaucational  Policv — Dr.   Duff's  Course — Government   Education,  Its  History 
and     Provisions — Mission      Schools — Their     Lack     of      Conversions — Causes- 
Arguments     Against    the     Educational      Policy — Arguments     in    Favor    of    it — 
Present  Duty — Policy  of  the  U.  P.  Mission — Conclusion 162-173 

CHAPTER  XVII— Evangelistic  Work— HI 
Zenana  and  Afedical  lVo7-k — Conversion  of  Indian  Women — Its  Importance — Igno- 
rance of  these  Women — Their  Power  in  the  Home^The  Zenana  Described — 
The  Zenana  Worker's  Experience  and  Methods — Her  Advantages  and  Disad- 
vantages— Results — Medical  Missionary  Work — Its  Growth  and  Necessity — 
Objections  and  Benefits — Our  Own  Special  Efforts  in  this  Line — A  History  and  a 
Report - 174-183 


CONTENTS  7 

CHAPTER  XVIII -Evangelistic  Work— IV 
Through  Literature — Itineration — Congregational  Services — Efforts  of  the  Common 
People — Moral  and  Spiritual  Character — Testimony  Bearing 184-197 

CHAPTER  XIX— Evangelistic  Work— V 
Through  Forms  and  Ceremonies — Apologies — Controversy — Worldly  Influences — 
Asceticism  and  Fakirism 198-217 

CHAPTER  XX — Obstruction  and  Persecution 
Physical  Hindrances — Hindrances  from  the  Government — From  European  Resi- 
dents— From  Neighboring  Missions  and  Missionaries — From  Lack  of  Funds — 
From  Imperfection  of  Laborers — From  Different  Views  of  Mission  Policy — From 
False  Religions — From  Caste — Opposition  to  Our  Getting  Locations  for  Work — 
To  Our  Prosecution  of  Labor — To  the  Hearing  of  the  Gospel — To  Religious  In- 
quiry— To  the  Belief  of  the  Truth — To  Baptism  and  a  Public  Profession — Persecu- 
tion of  Low-Caste  Converts  by  High-Caste  People  and  by  Low-Caste  Neighbors 
— Continued  Persecution  of  Christians  After  their  Baptism — Little  Persecution 
unto  Death — Caste  Giving  Way  Somewhat 218-236 

CHAPTER  XXI— Evangelistic  Results— I 
General  Influence — Secret  Converts — Professing  Christians,  their  Number  and  Dis- 
tribution— Classes  from  which  they  are  drawn — Causes  of  this 237-248 

CHAPTER  XXII— Evangelistic  Results— II 
Character  of  Native  Christians — Doubts  of  Some  Regarding  their  Piety — No  "Re- 
viva's  " — Many  Ignorant  and  Imperfect — Some  Fall  Away — Proofs  of  a  Work  of 
Grace — Many  Stand  Good  Church  Examinations— Make  Great  Sacrifices — Bear 
Persecution — Desire  Knowledge — Love  their  Christian  Teachers — Exhibit  Com- 
paratively High  Morality — Christian  Servants,  Worthless  or  Not  ? — Why — Native 
Christians  Not  Specially  Covetous — But  Liberal — Show  Continual  Improvement — • 
Are  Anxious  for  the  Salvation  of  Others — Testimony  as  to  the  Character  of  Indi- 
viduals— Ameera — Daulah — Chhero 249-260 

CHAPTER  XXIII — Lower  Training  of  Christians 
Stages  of  Missionary  Work — Training  of  Christians  in  a  Compound — In  a  Village — 
The  Underworker — Village  Life — Primary  Duties — Worship  Described — Singing, 
Prayer,  Sacraments — The  Sabbath  School — Secular  Schools — Their  Drawbacks — 
Teaching  Urdu — Central  Schools  and  Inspectors — Panchnyats — Sub-superintend- 
ence— The  Missionary's  Work — Monthly  Meetings — Methods  Autocratic — Melas 
— Christian  Villages  or  Settlements — Hindrances  to  Primary  Training — The  Re- 
sult  261-276 

CHAPTER  XXIV— Higher  Training  of  Christians— I 
Its  Necessity — Means  Employed — Central  Schools — The  Christian  Training  Insti- 
tute, its  History,  Character  and   Results — The  Girls'  Boarding  School — The  The- 
ological  Seminary — Why  Greek   and    Hebrew   Should    Be   Taught   Theological 
Students  in  India 277-293 

CHAPTER  XXV— Higher  Training  of  Christians— II 
Schools  of  Neighboring  Missions — Success  of  Higher  Education  Among  our  Peo- 
ple— Schemes  of  Private  Study — Summer  Schools — Religious  Conventions — 
Monthly  Meetings — Church  Courts  and  their  Drawbacks — Religious  Literature — 
Bible  Translations — How  Made  and  Circulated — The  Urdu  Version — The  Pun- 
jabi— The  Psalms  in  Meter — Bhajans — Indian  Lyric  Poetry — Catechisms — Other 
Books,  Tracts  and  Newspapers — Theology — History — Book  of  Discipline — 
Summary  of  Vernacular  Christian   Literature 294-309 


8  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XXVI — Ecclesiastical  Development  and  Maturity — I 
Financial  Self-support — Extreme  Rarity  in  Mission  Lands — Apparent  Exceptions — 
Madagascar — Missions  of  the  C.  M.  S.  and  S.  P.  G. — Japan — The  Sandwich 
Islands — A  Burning  Question — Our  Own  Mission  Like  Others  Generally — 
Churches  Not  Financially  Self-sustaining — Efforts  and  Progress  Made — Reme- 
dies Proposed — Lessening  Salaries — Increasing  Contributions — Have  Missions 
Started  Wrong? — Poverty  of  the  Native  Church — How  this  May  Be  Remedied — 
By  Education,  Industrial  Training  and  Agricultural  Settlements — Their  Draw- 
backs— By  Church  Growth  Especially  Among  the  Rich — Practical  Suggestions — 
Neighboring  Missions 310-332 

CHAPTER  XXVII — Ecclesiastical  Development  and  Maturity — II 
Church  Organization — Our  Defects  in  this  Particular — Are  they  Justifiable  ?— 333-337 

CHAPTER  XXVIII — Ecclesiastical  Development  and  Maturity — III 
Self- Governing  Power — What  it  Implies — Fewness  of  our  Ministers — Cause  of  the 
Deficiency — Character  of  our  Elders  and  Ministers — Capability  of  Exercising 
Self-Government — Objections  Considered —Advantages  Presented — Evils  thus 
Removed — Instructive  Precedents — Additional  Objections  Answered — Sum- 
mary.    338-350 

CHAPTER  XXIX— The  Outlook 
Statistics  Encouraging — Comparative  Progress  of  Other  Religions — Islam  Making 
Few  Converts — Statement  of  the  I.  E.  R. — Spurts  of  Hindu  Revival — Caste  Giv- 
ing Way — Gross  Hinduism  Diminishing — Reforms  Advancing — Indifference  of 
Many  Hindus  to  their  Faith — Brighter  Record  of  Christian  Missions — Splendid 
Field  among  the  Lowly — Danger  of  Compromise— Danger  of  Neglecting  the  De- 
pressed Classes — Danger  of  Unbrolherly  Interference — Danger  of  Neglecting  the 
Native  Christians  and  the  Native  Church — But  Great  Hope  of  Triumph — Not 
Immediately — Nor  as  The  Statesman  Forecasts — But  in  a  Century  or  two — The 
Church  like  a  Banyan   Tree ZS^-j^^ 

CHAPTER  XXX — The  Reflex  Influence  of  Missions 
Physical  Effects— Nervous  Exhaustion — Fret  and  Worry— Shortened  Life— Intellec- 
tual Stimulus — Literary  and  Linguistic  Culture — Social  Effects — Influence  on  Pa- 
triotism— And  on  Piety — Trial  of  Temper — Opportunities  for  Private  Devotion  and 
the  Study  of  God's  Word — The  Atmosphere  of    Heathenism— Burns'    Experience 

Habit  of  Suspicion — Reflex  Influence  of  Autocratic  Power  and  Secular  Work — 

Discouragements— Conflicts — Favorable  Side — First  Impetus  of  Zeal— Divine 
Promises— Consciousness  of  a  Great  Work — Prayers  at  Home— Rapid  Conver- 
sions— Opportunity  for  Compassion — Fraternal  Intercourse — Disgust  at  Heathen- 
ism—Active  Evangelism — Liberality — Prospect  of  Reward — A  Summing  Up — 
Qualifications  of  an  Indian  Missionary — Reflex  Influence  of  Missions  on  the 
Home  Church    362-382 

Statistical  Appendix 383-386 

Topical   Index 387-413 


"isag>mmK.^SSmss& 


Life  and  Work  in  India 


CHAPTER  I 

APPROACHES  TO  THE  FIELD 

Ordinary  Routes — Lines  of  Steamers — Passage  Taken — Description  of  Journey — 
Liverpool,  Gibraltar,  Red  Sea,  Bombay — By  Rail  in  India — Lines  on  the  Pacific 
— Projected  Routes  by  Arabia  or  the  Euphrates — The  Transcaspian  Line. 

|HE  opening  of  tlie  Suez  Canal  in  November,  1869,  revolu- 
tionized Eastern  navigation  more  than  any  other  event  that 
has  occurred  during  this  century — except,  it  may  be,  the 
application  of  steam  as  a  propelling  power  to  ocean  vessels. 
The  distance  between  London  and  Bombay  by  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope  is  11,220  miles;  by  the  Isthmus  of  Suez,  6332  miles — a  differ- 
ence of  nearly  5000  miles.  This  means  a  reduction  of  almost  three  weeks 
in  the  time  taken  by  an  ordinary  Oriental  steat-ner  in  passing  between 
the  two  points,  or  a  shortening  of  the  journey  by  water  to  about  one- 
half  what  it  formerly  was. 

Making  due  allowance  for  detention  at  Liverpool  in  changing  vessels, 
it  now  requires  from  five  to  seven  weeks  for  a  traveler  to  go  from  New 
York  to  the  western  coast  of  India,  and  a  week  less  if  he  crosses  the 
continent  of  Europe  by  rail  and  takes  a  steamer  at  Marseilles  or  one 
of  the  Italian  ports.* 

One  or  the  other  of  these  routes  is  that  chosen  by  n^ost  of  our 
American  missionaries  in  reaching  their  fields  of  labor  in  the  great 
Asiatic  peninsula.  Sometimes  Philadelphia,  Boston  or  Baltimore  is 
made  the  point  of  departure.  Our  own  Foreign  Board — that  of  the 
United    Presbyterian  Church  of  North   America — has   often   sent  its 

*  Recently  the  mails  were  transmitted,  via  Brindisi,  to  Bombay  in  about  three 
weeks;  but  this  was  a  rare  passage. 

(9) 


10 


LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 


agents  by  the  Ameri- 
can   Line    from   the 
first-named    city, 
where  this  Board  is 
located  ;  but  a  large 
majority  of  those  who 
leave   our   shores  to 
labor   for   Christ   in 
India   cross    the  At- 
lantic    by     one    of 
the  great  lines  which 
run     between     New 
York  and  Liverpool. 
From    Liverpool,  or 
London,  to  Calcutta, 
Madras,  Bombay  or 
Karachi,  passage  on 
some  steamer   going 
around  by  the  Strait 
of  Gilbraltar  can  gen- 
erally be  secured    in 
a  few  days ;    or  the 
traveler  may  "book" 
through    by   rail    to 
some    port    on    the 
Mediterranean,  and, 
by    prearrangement, 
meet   a   ship    there. 
The    advantages    of 
the  latter  course  are 
a  saving  of  time,  an 
opportunity  of  sight- 
seeing on   the  conti- 
nent    and     freedom 
from  the   perils  and 
the    seasickness     of 
the   Bay    of  Biscay. 
Its  disadvantages  are 
greater  expense  and  trouble  and  the  limitation  of  the  amount   of  a 


LINES   OF  STEAMERS  11 

passenger's  luggage.  Excess  of  baggage  is,  in  this  case,  generally 
sent  as  freight  direct  from  England  to  India,  or  by  special  arrange- 
ment carried  around  on  the  same  British  steamer  which  the  owner 
himself  takes  at  Marseilles,  Naples  or  Brindisi. 

There  is  a  great  difference  in  the  character  of  the  various  lines  of 
steamers,  and  a  corresponding  difference  in  their  rates  of  passage.  The 
Peninsular  &  Oriental  has  for  many  years  been  the  most  celebrated 
line  connecting  Europe  and  the  East.  It  carries  the  mails,  is  patron- 
ized by  many  English  officials  and  makes  regular,  and  comparatively 
rapid,  time.  But  it  is  the  most  expensive  of  all,  and  is  not  much  used 
by  missionaries  unless  they  travel  second-class.  Other  well  known 
lines  are  the  British  India,  the  Anchor,  the  Clan,  the  Rubittino 
(Italian),  and  the  Messageries  (French).  Of  late  the  Hall  Line,  run- 
ning between  Liverpool,  Marseilles  and  Karachi,  has  been  quite  pop- 
ular with  people  in  the  Punjab.  It  gives  excellent  accommodations, 
makes  good  speed,  carries  a  fine  class  of  passengers,  is  available  either 
for  a  continuous  sea-journey  or  trans-continental  travel,  and  has  an  ar- 
rangement by  which  travelers,  homeward  bound,  have  special  railway 
facilities  in  India. 

During  the  past  fourteen  years  most  of  the  Punjab  missionaries  have 
made  Bombay  their  point  of  entry  or  departure  in  going  to  or  from 
the  land  of  the  Vedas.  A  few  have  gone  or  come  by  Calcutta,  and  still 
more  by  Karachi,  which  is  growing  in  popularity. 

The  majority  of  our  American  missionaries  have  heretofore  taken 
first-class  passage  on  steamers  in  journeying  back  and  forth  between 
this  and  their  field  of  labor.  Many,  however,  have  traveled  second- 
class,  at  least  part  of  the  way.  Occasionally,  as  upon  a  few  of  the  P. 
&  O.  steamers  and  the  Messageries  Line,  second-class  cabin  arrange- 
ments are  very  good,  and,  where  the  company  is  not  too  large  or 
promiscuous,  may  be  accepted  for  the  sake  of  economy,  in  spite  of 
close  quarters  and  inferior  tone.  As  a  general  rule,  however,  mission- 
aries ought  to  travel  first-class  on  shipboard,  exception  being  made 
only  when  they  find  in  a  lower  class  wholesome  food  and  clean  berths, 
and  when  their  party  is  large  enough  and  homogeneous  enough  to  con- 
trol practically  matters  in  which  they  have  a  common  interest. 

On  European  and  Indian  railways,  however,  the  case  is  different. 
Usually  second-class  travel  by  rail  is  just  as  comfortable,  speedy  and 
honorable  as  that  which  is  called  first-class.  No  objection,  whatever, 
can  be  made  to  it,  except  its  greater  limitation  of  allowable  luggage, 


12  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

and  possibly  the  greater  exposure  which  it  brings  in  India  to  associa-. 
tion  with  undesirable  companions. 

The  cost  of  a  missionary's  journey  from  Western  Pennsylvania  to 
Lahore  (or  vice  versa) — first-class  on  a  ship  and  second-class  by  rail  in 
a  foreign  land — is  at  present  rates  about  $300  or  $325,  and  half  that  for 
children  under  twelve  years  of  age — infants  being  free.  This  includes 
a  moderate  outlay  for  hotel  bills,  as  well  as  incidental  expenses,  which 
may  be  necessary  at  New  York,  Liverpool,  or  other  points  on  the  way; 
but  it  does  not  include  the  cost  of  transmitting  extra  packages  as 
freight. 

Some  Mission  Boards  have  friends  or  business  correspondents  at 
ports  where  changes  must  be  made,  to  help  missionaries  in  getting  a  hotel 
or  securing  tickets  for  their  forward  journey.  Occasionally  there  is 
some  advantage  in  this  arrangement ;  but  if  there  is  a  good  business 
person  in  the  party,  especially  an  experienced  gentleman,  such  aid  might 
better  be  dispensed  with.  It  is  generally  less  satisfactory,  and  often  more 
expensive  than  independent  action.  Previous  knowledge  of  suitable 
hotels  and  boarding  places,  however,  is  desirable  when  one  enters  a 
city  for  the  first  time ;  but  this  can  usually  be  secured  from  fellow- 
travelers,  local  papers  or  standard  guide  books. 

Let  us  now  imagine  the  missionary  on  his  way  to  our  Punjab  field. 
He  has  left  his  home  in  the  interior,  furnished  himself  in  New  York  or 
Philadelphia  with  warm  wraps  for  the  Atlantic  (the  stormiest,  coldest 
part  of  his  journey),  bid  good-bye  to  friends  and  begun  his  voyage  on 
the  broad,  deep  ocean.  If  he  is  a  bad  sailor,  and  experience  alone  can 
decide  this  point,  his  soul  and  stomach  will  soon  be  sorely  tried,  and 
he  may  wish  himself  back  again  at  home  ;  but  if  of  different  constitu- 
tion, he  will — unless  an  accident  occurs,  or  the  sea  is  too  heavy — con- 
tinue to  enjoy  the  trip  until  he  readies  Queenstown  and  Liverpool. 
Even  if  he  has  not  taken  congenial  companions  with  him,  he  will  al- 
most certainly  find  a  few  among  his  fellow-passengers  ;  while  interesting 
books,  innocent  sports  and  opportunities  of  doing  good,  will  suffice  to 
fill  up  all  the  time  which  he  does  not  care  to  employ  in  watching  the 
restless  waves  around  him.  Reaching  port,  he  gets  his  baggage 
examined  by  the  custom  house  officer,  and  having,  of  course,  no  dyna- 
mite, whiskey,  or  tobacco  among  his  effects,  is  soon  set  free,  and  takes 
a  cab  for  a  hotel  (kept  on  the  common  European  plan),  or  a  boarding 
house.  After  refreshments  and  a  few  inquiries  made  of  the  female 
clerk,  he  threads  his  way    to   the  offices   of  the  different  steamship 


ENGLAND  AND   BEYOND 


13 


SIGHTING  LAND. 


companies,  and  obtains  all  the  information  necessary  to  get  the  whole 
field  of  traveling  possibilities  before  him.  Then,  consulting  his  associ- 
ates (if  he  has  any),  he  settles  on  a 
particular  line,  steamer,  and  state- 
room, and  secures  his  passage.  This 
fixes  the  time  of  his  departure  on 
the  next  stage  of  his  journey. 

Should  a  itw  days  elapse  before 
the  sailing  of  his  vessel,  he  and 
his  party  will  run  down  to  London 
(tliird-class  by  rail),  or  to  Glasgow 
and  Edinburgli,  or  across  to  Ire- 
land, cfr  out  to  Chester  and  Strat- 
ford-on-Avon,  and  derive  as  much 
good  as  possible  from  their  enforced 
delay.  While  in  Liverpool,  too, 
they  note  the  heavy  draught-horses, 
tall  policemen,  splendid  docks,  and 
substantial  buildings  of  England's  great  commercial  seaport. 

The  day  of  departure  having  arrived,  and  letters  having  been  mailed 
for  home  friends  and  the  mission  field,  they  set  sail,  and  in  a  few  hours 
are  making  full  headway  down  the  Irish  sea.  Passing  Holyhead, 
Small's  Lighthouse,  and  Land's  End,  they  reach  the  open  ocean,  and 
press  on  across  the  mouth  of  the  British  Channel  and  the  Bay  of  Biscay 
until  they  sight  the  coast  of  Portugal.  The  chances  for  stormy  and  for 
fair  weather  up  to  this  point  are  about  equal.  The  Bay,  as  well  as  the 
coast  of  Portugal,  has  a  bad  reputation,  and  occasionally  ships  have 
been  lost  in  its  raging  waters — some  containing  missionaries  during  the 
last  decade — but  occasionally  it  is  as  smooth  and  safe  as  any  part  of  the 
whole  route. 

In  six  or  seven  days,  Gibraltar  is  reached,  and  one  has  an  oppor- 
tunity of  seeing  the  classic  Pillars  of  Hercules  and  that  wonderful  rock- 
fortress  whose  possession  has  entered  so  largely  into  Britain's  naval  and 
imperial  strength.  Proceeding,  the  ship  sails  along  the  beautiful  coast 
of  Southern  Spain,  catches  a  glimpse,  here  and  there,  of  Northern 
Africa  and  the  Island  of  Sicily,  passes  St.  Paul's  Bay  on  the  coast  of 
Malta,  stops  to  coal  at  Valetta,  and  on  the  fourteenth  day  out  reaches 
Port  Said,  where  arrangements  are  made  to  go  through  the  Suez 
Canal — if  after  dark,  with  the  aid  of  electric  light. 


14 


LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 


IN  THE  CANAL. 


Twelve  hours  afterwards  the  Red  Sea  comes  into  view,  and  Bible 
students    are    all    alive,    noting    every    object    before     them    which 

might  have  any  connection 
with  the  departure  of  the 
Israelites  from  Egypt.  The 
Bitter  Lakes,  Suez,  Jebel  Ata- 
kah,  the  low  stretch  of  coast 
between  that  range  of  moun- 
tains and  the  sea,  the  Wells  of 
Moses,  and  the  distant  hills  on 
the  farther  shore — all  come  in 
for  their  share  of  observation 
and  remark. 

But  the  ship  does  not  delay 
long  at  Port  Ibrahim,  nor  do 
objects  of  interest  cease  to 
meet  a  traveler's  attention  as 
she  proceeds  on  her  voyage. 
On  both  sides  of  the  Gulf  of 
Suez,  for  its  whole  length  of 
1 20  miles,  the  yellowish-white  shore  is  visible,  while  the  Sinaitic  group 
of  mountains,  bleak  and  jagged,  form  an  appropriate  background  on 
the  east.  At  a  point  about  ninety-five  miles  from  Suez,  Mt.  Sinai 
comes  into  view  between  two  peaks,  of  which  the  southern  is  Mt. 
Catherine.  This,  of  course,  is  earnestly  scanned  with  glasses  during 
the  short  time  when  it  remains  in  sight. 

Two  or  three  hours  afterwards  our  company  enters  the  main  body  of 
the  Red  Sea,  passes  The  Brothers  and  sails  near  the  Daedalus  light- 
house. This  is  a  singular  structure  rising  apparently  out  of  the  sea, 
built  upon  the  southern  edge  of  a  circular  submerged  coral  reef  which 
does  not  inclose  more  than  a  square  half-mile  of  area,  but  is  distinctly 
recognized  by  the  calm,  green  waters  (only  three  or  four  feet  in  depth) 
that  cover  its  surface.  On  this  reef  a  ship  is  said  to  have  foundered 
some  years  ago,  plunging  down  at  the  very  edge  in  water  one  hundred 
fathoms  deep,  while  the  passengers,  by  wading  out  on  the  unseen,  but 
solid,  platform  beside  her,  escaped  with  their  lives. 

Several  days  now  elapse  during  which  little  land  is  visible,  and 
nothing  arises  to  arrest  a  traveler's  attention  except  the  continually 
increasing   heat.      Then    come    into    view,    successively,    Jiibal    Tur, 


ADEN  AND   BOMBAY  15 

Jubal  Sukr,  the  constellation  of  the  Southern  Cross,  Perim  (a  coaling 
station),  the  straits  of  Bab-el- Mandeb  and,  loi  miles  beyond  Perim, 
Aden — a  bleak,  hot,  almost  rainless  peninsula,  of  volcanic  origin,  form- 
ing an  outpost  of  the  Indian  Empire,  where  a  garrison  of  soldiers  con- 
stitutes the  chief  part  of  the  population.  Here,  perhaps,  the  ship  may 
be  delayed  a  few  hours  and  her  passengers  may  thus  get  an  opportunity 
of  landing  and  sight-seeing.  If  so,  they  will  be  abundantly  repaid. 
If  less  fortunate,  they  can  at  least  observe  the  Somali  divers  who, 
in  spite  of  sharks,  dare  to  sport  by  the  vessel's  side,  and  crying,  "  Have 
a  dive,  have  a  dive  !  "  dart  downward  with  incredible  quickness  and 
certainty  after  the  shillings,  or  rupees,  that  are  thrown  overboard  for 
the  amusement  of  the  donors  and  the  benefit  of  the  performers. 

Seven  days  more  of  sailing  across  the  Arabian  Sea,  which,  except  in 
the  monsoons,  is  almost  always  calm,  bring  the  missionary  party  to 
Bombay  or  Karachi — if  to  the  former  place,  without  showing  them  any- 
thing very  remarkable  on  the  way,  except  perhaps  a  spouting  whale  or 
a  passing  ship — if  to  the  latter  place,  over  a  course  which  also  brings 
into  view  several  islands  and  the  southernmost  points  of  the  peninsula 
of  Arabia. 

In  Bombay  they  take  lodgings  at  the  Esplanade,  or  the  Byculla,  hotel, 
or  possibly  at  a  cheaper  and  less  pretentious  place  of  entertainment. 
Some  time  elapses  before  their  baggage  is  examined  and  forwarded  and 
preparations  are  fully  made  for  the  journey  northward  by  rail.  Sola 
hats  and  bedding  must  be  purchased  ;  for  it  is  not  safe,  even  in  winter, 
for  a  European  or  American  stranger  to  expose  himself  much  in  or- 
dinary headgear  to  an  Indian  sun,  and  on  the  railways  and  at  many 
hotels,  bedding  is  conspicuously  absent.  Meanwhile,  if  a  little  leisure 
can  be  found,  they  secure  a  look  at  the  splendid  buildings  on  the 
Esplanade  (as  fine  as  any  other  modern  structures  in  India),  take  a 
drive  to  Malabar  Hill  (where  the  Parsee  Towers  of  Silence  are)  and, 
from  the  elevation  thus  secured,  get  a  fine  view  of  Bombay  city  and 
its  beautiful  harbor,  go  across  to  the  Caves  of  Elephanta  in  a  little 
boat,  call  on  some  of  the  local  missionaries,  take  a  ride  on  the  tram- 
way, which  is  now  run  by  electricity  instead  of  horse  power,  or  wander 
on  foot  through  the  narrow  streets  of  the  native  part  of  the  city,  where 
everything  they  see  or  hear  is  so  strange,  picturesque  and  interesting. 

At  length  their  hotel  bill  (one  or  two  dollars  a  day)  is  paid,  a  good, 
big  luncheon  basket  well  filled  with  eatables  procured,  and  entering  a 
shigram,  they  are  driven  to  the  Colaba  station  of  the  Bombay,  Baroda 


16  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

and  Central  Railway.  Here  they  procure  second-class  tickets  at  the 
rate  of  fifty  or  sixty  rupees  apiece  and  are  soon  comfortably  seated  in  an 
apartment  on  the  train  occupied  only  by  themselves,  while  but  a  few 
minutes  elapse  before  the  engine  whistles  and  their  journey  of  1324 
miles  to  Sialkot  is  begun. 

From  eighty  to  one  hundred  hours  are  consumed  in  this  part  of  their 
trip  if  they  go  by  way  of  Delhi  and  do  not  stop  over  at  any  point  on 
the  road.*  Bleak  cliffs,  barren  deserts,  compactly  built  but  sad- 
looking  towns,  wells  used  for  irrigating  purposes,  extensive  unculti- 
vated plains,  monkeys,  jackals,  deer,  antelopes,  wild  birds,  green  or 
yellow  patches  of  grain,  picturesque  mountains,  pretty  railway  stations 
ornamented  with  garden  beds  of  flowers  and  running  vines,  and  a  great 
variety  of  other  interesting  objects,  greet  the  eye  and  help  to  lessen  the 
tedium  of  the  journey  ;  while  at  various  stopping-places  refreshments, 
or  regular  meals,  can  be  had,  as  desired.  The  lack  of  a  knowledge  of 
the  language  of  the  country  does  not  prevent  the  newcomers  from 
traveling  with  a  good  degree  of  comfort,  altliough  it  interferes  greatly 
with  their  ability  to  ask  questions  and  pick  up  information. 

Should  the  Sabbath  intervene,  requiring  rest,  or  the  party  wish  to 
stop  and  see  the  wonders  of  the  land,  they  may  break  their  journey  at 
Delhi,  Agra  or  Lahore,  and  finish  it  when  their  object  is  accomplished. 
Having  arrived  at  their  destination,  they  find  some  of  their  brethren, 
who  had  been  apprized  by  telegraph  of  their  coming,  waiting  at  the 
station  to  receive  them.  The  welcome  which  they  get  is  of  the  most 
cordial  character  and  soon  they  feel  fully  installed  as  regular  members 
of  the  missionary  household. 

Should  the  party  land  at  Calcutta  or  Karachi,  instead  of  Bombay, 
they  would  meet  with  other  objects  of  interest  at  the  port  of  entry; 
and,  on  their  journey  into  the  interior,  which  in  either  case  would  be 
also  wholly  by  rail,  they  would  pass  through  different  towns  and 
scenes ;  but  on  the  whole  their  impression  of  the  country  would  be 
much  the  same.  By  way  of  ■  Karachi,  however,  173  miles  would  be 
saved  in  the  sea-journey  and  400  miles  in  the  railway  ride  ;  wliile  ten 
days  on  the  sea  and  a  {t\^  hours  on  land  would  be  lost  were  Calcutta 
made  the  port  of  entry. 

*They  will  pass  through  Siitat,  Baroda,  Ahmedabad,  Ajmere,  Jeypore,  Rewari, 
Delhi,  Meerut,  Amritsar  and  Lahore.  The  newly-opened  railway  from  Rewari,  by 
Hissar  and  Firozpur,  to  Laliore  shortens  the  journey  i86  miles,  but  travel  by  that 
route  prevents  passengers  from  seeing  Delhi  and  Amritsar, 


WESTERN  AND    OTHER   ROUTES 


17 


ORIENTAL    HARBOR. 


Missionaries  may  go  from  America  to  India  by  a  westward  route, 
crossing  the  Pacific  Ocean  and  traveling  by  way  of  Yokohama,  Japan, 
and  Hong  Kong,  China.  In 
that  case  they  will  take  passage 
on  a  vessel  of  the  Occidental  and 
Oriental  Line  at  San  Francisco 
or  on  one  of  the  steamers  of  the 
British  Canadian  Line  at  Van- 
couver, but  they  will  change 
lines  and  steamers  at  Hong  Kong, 
and  may  stop  for  a  time  also,  if 
they  so  desire,  in  Japan.  This 
route  brings  the  traveler  to 
Madras  or  Calcutta,  whence  he 
makes  his  way  inland  as  already 
described.  The  distance  b\ 
water  from  New  York  to  Karachi 
via  Liverpool,  Gibraltar  and 
Suez  is  9200  miles.  The  dis- 
tance from  San  Francisco  to  Calcutta,  on  the  eastern  side  of  India, 
is  about  9900  miles;  and  from  Vancouver,  500  miles  less.  American 
missionaries  from  the  extreme  West  might  therefore  very  properly  go 
by  the  Pacific  route,  although  at  best  it  is  somewhat  more  tedious 
and  expensive;  but  Pennsylvanians  will  find  that  it  requires  at  least 
twelve  days  more  of  travel  and  sixty  dollars  more  passage  money 
than  the  usual  eastern  route.  However,  some  might  prefer  it  because 
of  its  novelty,  or  because,  having  traveled  the  other  way,  they  could 
say,  at  the  end  of  their  trip,  that  they  had  journeyed  round  the  world. 

Is  it  probable  that  other  and  better  routes  to  India  will  soon  be 
opened  ? 

Several  have  been  suggested  during  the  last  thirty  years. 

One  of  these  is  a  railway  from  Suez  across  the  Arabian  Peninsula 
and  through  Persia  to  Karachi,  a  distance  of  2400  miles.  Another 
is  what  is  called  the  Euphrates,  or  the  Tigris,  route.  This  con- 
templates a'  railway  from  some  port  on  the  Mediterranean  Sea — say 
Alexandretta — past  Aleppo — and  down  the  Euphrates  to  Hillah,  Bas- 
sorah  or  Koweit,  where  it  could  connect  with  steam  navigation  for 
Karachi  and  Bombay  ;  or  from  Alexandretta  by  Aleppo  to  Diarbekir 
and  down  the  Tigris  to  Baghdad  and  thence  across  the  country  to 
2 


18  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

Bassorah  or  Koweit,  or  from  Baghdad  direct  to  Mohammerah  and 
along  the  northeastern  shores  of  the  Persian  Gulf  and  Arabian  Sea, 
past  Bushir,  Bunder  Abbas  and  Sonmiyani  to  Karachi ;  or  a  road  start- 
ing from  Constantinople,  instead  of  Alexandretta,  passing  through  the 
midst  of  Asia  Minor  to  Diarbekir  and  connecting  with  the  line 
already  described.  A  continuous  railway  from  Alexandretta  to  Kara- 
chi through  Baghdad  would  be  about  2750  miles  in  length,  and  could 
be  traveled  easily  in  four  or  five  days,  while  less  than  a  day  longer  need 
be  spent  on  the  Mediterranean  in  reaching  its  western  terminus  than  in 
reaching  Port  Said  by  the  present  route.  Thus  a  full  week  would  be 
gained  by  passengers  bound  for  Karachi. 

But  railway  connection  between  Calais  and  Constantinople*  was 
opened  up  in  the  fall  of  1888,  so  that  passengers  can  make  the  journey 
from  London  to  Constantinople  in  ninety-four  hours.  Supposing,  then, 
that  a  railway  was  finished  between  Constantinople  and  Karachi,  as 
above  described,  the  whole  distance  from  London  to  Lahore  would  be 
about  4975  miles,  and,  at  the  rate  of  twenty-five  miles  an  hour,  could  be 
traversed  in  eight  or  ten  days,  not  counting  Sabbaths  of  rest.  The 
present  route  from  London,  or  Liverpool,  to  Lahore,  byway  of  the  sea 
and  the  Suez  Canal  to  Karachi,  is  about  6100  miles  and  occupies  in  its 
passage  a  period  of  about  twenty-four  days.  Thus  a  Constantinople 
route  would  shorten  the  distance  from  1000  to  iioo  miles  and  the  trip 
fourteen  or  fifteen  days. 

The  prospect  of  the  early  completion  of  any  of  these  routes  is  not 
very  bright.  Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  some  surveys  connected 
with  them  have  already  been  made  and  a  good  deal  of  writing  done  in 
their  behalf,  and  even  a  few  miles  of  the  road  through  Asia  Minor 
have  been  built,  so  many  obstructions  are  generally  put  in  the  way  of 
such  enterprises  by  the  Turkish  government  tliat  we  cannot  hope  for  a 
satisfactory  conclusion  of  any  projects  in  this  direction  for  many  years 
to  come. 

Much  more  is  to  be  expected  from  another  route,  or  rather  concat- 
enation of  routes,  namely,  that  which  lies  through  the  Czar's  Asiatic 
dominions. 

About  seventeen  years  ago  a  railway  was  completed  between  Poti 
and  Batoum  on  the  Black  Sea,  and  Baku  on  the  Caspian  Sea.  At  or 
before  this  time  the  European  system  also  reached  Vladikavkaz,  on 

*  Through  Basle,  yienna,  Pesth,  Belgrade,  Nisch  and  Sophia. 


THE    TRANSCASPIAN  ROUTE  19 

the  northern  side  of  the  Caucasus  mountains,  130  miles  from  Tiflis,  an 
important  station  on  the  former  railway. 

In  1S80  the  Transcaspian  Line  was  begun,  starting  at  Michaelovsk, 
on  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Caspian  Sea,  and  since  that  date  this  rail- 
way has  been  pushed  forward  with  great  energy  into  the  very  heart  of 
Asia.  It  was  finished  to  Kizl  Arvat  (159  miles  from  Michaelovsk  and 
162  from  Uzun  Ada)  in  1880-81  ;  *  to  Uzun  Ada,  the  present  point 
of  departure  (by  a  branch  line),  in  1S85  ;  to  Askabad  (136  miles)  in 
1885;  to  Merve  (214  miles)  July  2,  1886;  to  Charjui,  on  tlie  Amu 
Darya  f  or  ancient  Oxus  river  (a  distance  of  147  miles),  Dec.  13, 
1886;  to  Bokhara  (sixty-six  miles)  in  April,  1888;  and  to  Samarkand 
(175  miles).  May,  1888.  Since  then  perhaps  100  miles  additional  rail- 
way, or  1000  miles  in  all,  have  been  finished,  and  soon  Tashkend  (190 
miles  from  Samarkand)  and  other  important  Central-Asian  points  will 
be  bound  with  iron  links  to  the  great  Transcaspian  system. 

It  is  proposed  to  tunnel  the  Caucasus  mountains  between  Vladikav- 
kaz and  Tiflis,  as  also  to  build  a  railway  between  the  former  place  and 
Petrovsk,  an  important  northern  port  of  the  Caspian,  and  possibly  to 
run  another  road  down  the  western  shore  of  this  sea  from  Petrovsk  to 
Baku.  It  is  also,  no  doubt,  the  intention  of  the  Russians  to  extend 
their  Transcaspian  Line  towards  Herat  and  India — tlie  object  of  this 
movement  being  partly  commercial  and  partly  administrative,  or  mili- 
tary. Such  improvements  spring  of  necessity  from  that  aggressive 
policy  by  which  Russia  is  striving  to  extend,  as  well  as  conserve,  her 
Oriental  possessions. 

The  British  government  in  India,  moreover,  has  not  been  idle  in 
pushing  out  her  means  of  easy  communication  with  the  North. 
About  1000  miles  of  railway  and  other  roads  were  projected  as  early 
as  1 88 1,  and  some  of  the  plans  then  adopted  have  since  been  realized 
in  fact.  Especial  mention  must  be  made  of  the  Sind  Pesliin  railway 
and  the  Khojak  tunnel.  The  former  runs  through,  and  (by  a  different 
branch)  around,  the  Bolan  Pass,  from  Sibi  to  and  beyond  Quetta,  a 
military  outpost  in  the  border  of  British  Baluchistan;  and  the  latter 
(the  tunnel)  pierces  the  Kwaja  Amran  range  of  mountains  eighty  or 
ninety  miles  further  on  in  the  direction  of  Kandahar.  The  railway 
was  finished  to  the  base  of  the  above-mentioned  range  in  January, 
1887,  ^•''d  the  tunnel  in  August,  1891. 

*  Seventeen  miles  of  this  part  were  laid  in  seventeen  days, 
f  The  bridge  over  this  river  is  one  mile,  992  ft.  long. 


20  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

The  distance  from  the  Khojak  tunnel  to  Duschak,  the  nearest  pouit 
of  the  present  Transcaspian  Railway,  is  about  700  miles.  The  best 
route  lies  through  Kandahar,  Girishk  on  the  Helmund  river,  Herat, 
and  probably  along  the  banks  of  the  Hari  Rud  and  the  Tejend  rivers 
by  Sarrakhs,  an  important  Russian  outpost.  Everywhere  in  this 
direction  a  road  would  be  of  comparatively  easy  construction  ;  and 
who  knows  but  that  in  a  few  years,  through  the  force  of  military  neces- 
sity and  imperial  ambition,  this  gap  may  be  traversed  by  the  iron 
horse  and  made  a  highway  for  common  travel  ? 

Whenever  such  a  result  is  reached,  continuous  railway  communica- 
tion between  the  Straits  of  Dover  and  Calcutta  will  be  interrupted 
only  at  the  Caspian  and  Black  Seas.  Reckoning  the  distance  from 
Odessa  to  Poti  (or  Batoum)  at  1000  miles,  and  that  across  the  Caspian 
from  Baku  to  Uzun  Ada,  or  Krasnovodsk,  at  200  miles,  and  the 
Straits  of  Dover  at  twenty  miles,  we  find  that  the  whole  distance 
from  London,  by  Cologne,  Berlin,  Odessa,  Poti,  Baku,  Uzun  Ada, 
Duschak,  Sarrakhs,  Herat,  Kandahar  and  Quetta,  to  Lahore  would  be 
5260  miles,  of  which  as  much  as  4040  miles  would  be  covered  by  rail 
when  this  route  is  completed.  It  ought  not,  therefore,  to  take  more 
than  eleven  or  twelve  days  (two  weeks,  counting  Sabbaths)  to  pass  be- 
tween the  two  places,  or  less  than  one-half  the  time  which  it  now 
takes,  by  way  of  the  Strait  of  Gibraltar.  Should  the  necessity  of 
crossing  the  Black  Sea  be  removed  also,  by  tlie  completion  of  railway 
connections  west  of  the  Caspian,  three  or  four  days  additional  might 
be  saved  in  making  the  same  journey. 

Hence,  to  say  nothing  of  a  railway  along  the  western  side  of  the 
Caspian  across  Persia,  that  is  from  Petrovsk  to  the  Tigris,  or  the  Per- 
sian Gulf,  or  of  the  Siberian  railway  which,  with  its  connection  south 
from  Orenburg,  Omsk  or  Semipalatinsk,  might  open  up  a  northwestern 
route  by  way  of  Vladivostok  on  the  Pacific  Ocean,  nothing  is  more 
likely  than  that  some  of  the  present  foreign  missionaries  of  Lidia 
will,  before  they  die,  have  the  pleasure  of  going  to  and  from  their 
fields  of  labor  in  less  than  half  the  time  which  it  now  takes  and  with 
half  the  seasickness  which  they  now  experience. 


CHAPTER  II 

OUTSIDE   POLITICAL   CONDITIONS 

China  and  Baluchistan — Burmese  War — Border  Warfare — Manipur  Rebellion — 
The  Mahdi — Dhulip  Singh — Russia's  Progress  in  Asia — English  Fear  of  Russia 
— Afghanistan  a  Buffer — What  we  Dreaded  Most. 

|AVING  accompanied  the  missionaries  to  their  field  of  labor 
in  the  Punjab,  let  us  observe  their  surroundings  and  the 
conditions  under  wliich  they  have  been  required  to  work. 
Beginning  with  the  outside  circle  we  note  various  polit- 
ical neighbors  who  have  somewhat  disturbed  the  peace  of  the  country 
where  their  Mission  is  established. 

Of  China  little  need  be  said,  as  the  Himalaya  Mountains  form  an 
almost  impassable  barrier,  separating  Thibet,  her  nearest  tributary 
province,  from  the  peninsula  of  India;  and  (during  the  past  fourteen 
years)  scarcely  the  shadow  of  a  quarrel  has  arisen  between  that  country 
and  Great  Britain. 

Similar  remarks  may  be  made  of  Siam,  Anam,  Kafiristan  and 
Baluchistan,  although  the  last-named  country  was  years  ago  somewhat 
troublesome  and  part  of  its  territory  was  then  brought  within  the 
"sphere  of  British  influence." 

The  case  of  Upper  Burma  has  been  somewliat  different.  There  a 
war  arose  between  King  Thebaw  and  the  Indian  Viceroy  in  the  fall 
of  1S85  which  ended  in  the  deposition  of  the  former  and  the  complete 
annexation  of  his  dominions  to  British  India.  This  war,  however, 
although  the  most  important  carried  on  by  our  rulers  within  the  past 
fourteen  years,  was  comparatively  distant  from  the  Punjab  and  excited 
no  special  interest  there  among  either  Hindus  or  Muhammadans, 
unless  they  were  soldiers  or  the  friends  of  soldiers.  Hence  it  pro- 
duced scarcely  a  ripple  in  the  current  of  our  missionary  work  or  life. 

Several  other  contests  occurred  between  the  Government  of  India 
and  border  tribes:    for  instance,  that  of  the  Zhob  Valley  in  1884,  the 

(21) 


22 


LIFE  AND  WORK  IN  INDIA 


Sikkim  Expedition  in  1888,  the  two  Black  Mountain  wars  in  the  fall 
of  1888  and  in  1891,  the  Lushai  Uprisings  in  1889  and  1892,  the 
Kohat  war  in  1891  and  a  akirmish  with  some  Afghan  tribes  in  the  fall 
of  1894.  But  these  contests  hardly  rose  above  the  dignity  of 
skirmishes  and,  although  nearer,  gave  us  little  more  anxiety  than  did 
the  Burmese  campaign. 

The  rebellion  in  Manipur,  a  native  state  on  the  borders  of  Assam, 
which  occurred  in  March,  1S91,  and  led  to  the  assassination  of  Mr. 
Quinton,  the  Chief  Commissioner  of  Assam,  and  the  execution  of 
several  high  native  officials,  as  well  as  to  the  deposition  and  banishment 
of  the  king,  gave  us  a  serious,  though  temporary,  shock — partly,  how- 
ever, because  it  was  simultaneous  witli  rebellious    demonstrations  in 

Calcutta,  Benares  and  other 
places,  and  revealed  in  a  striking 
manner  the  fact  that  the  basis  of 
England's  imperial  rule  in  the 
East  possessed  elements  of  insta- 
bility. 

The  rise  of  the  so-called 
Mahdi  in  Africa  and  his  success 
in  maintaining  his  position  there, 
together  with  the  prospect  of 
his  crossing  over  the  Red  Sea 
into  Arabia  and  making  a  tri- 
umphant march,  as  the  promised 
messenger  of  God,  to  Persia, 
Afghanistan  and  India,  excited 
greatly  the  imagination  of  the 
Muhammadans  of  our  neigh- 
borhood in  1884  and  made  us 
Christians  glad  when  the  tide 
of  battle  turned  against  him  and 
he  disappeared  from  view. 

The  threatened  coming  of  the 
Maharaja  Dhulip  Singh  to  India  as  the  avowed  head  and  king  of  the 
Sikh  nation,  in  the  spring  of  1S86,  was  doubtless  disturbing  in  its 
effects  upon  the  native  population  of  the  Punjab  and  a  cause  of  fear 
to  the  government.     But  his  detention  at  Aden  and  return  to  Europe 


MAHARAJA   DHULU'    SIM   H    IN    r\RIY 
MANHOOD. 


JiUSSIA  'S   FROGHESS  IN  AS /A  23 

effectually  quenched  all  the  incipient  fires  of  an  uprising  among  the 
people,  if  there  were  any,  and  gave  us  peace. 

But  the  outside  movement  which  more  than  any  other  disturbed  In- 
dia during  the  period  under  review  was  Russia's  constant  advance  in 
that  direction — with  the  intention,  it  was  supposed,  of  driving  out  the 
English  from  Hindustan  and  extending  her  own  dominions  to  the  Bay 
of  Bengal  and  the  Indian  Ocean. 

Russia's  progress  in  Asia  was  begun  by  Yarmak  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  sixteenth  century  and,  continuing  at  intervals  ever  since,  has 
proved  to  be  one  of  the  most  wonderful  facts  and  factors  of  modern 
history.  Tomsk  was  founded  in  1604;  the  sea  of  Ochotsk  reached  in 
1639;  Irkutsk  founded  in  1661  ;  the  country  between  the  Ural  Moun- 
tains and  the  Baikal  lake  was  conquered  in  1725;  the  east  coast  of 
Siberia  reached  in  1 738  ;  and  the  complete  conquest  of  that  region 
secured  in  i860 — through  the  cession  by  China  of  the  left  bank  of  the 
Amoor  river  and  as  much  of  thfe  country  southward  as  lies  between 
its  Asuri  branch  and  the  Pacific  coast.  Recently  (in  1895)  rights  in 
Corea  have  been  granted  to  Russia  by  both  China  and  Japan,  as  the 
result  of  the  war  between  these  two  countries.  Meanwhile,  too,  prog- 
ress had  been  made  in  the  acquisition  of  the  Caucasus  and  of  Trans- 
Caucasia,  although  the  full  possession  of  this  country  was  not  entirely 
obtained  until  about  the  year  1871.  Turkestan  also  had  for  years  felt 
the  encroachments  of  this  aggressive  power  and  was  now  destined  to 
receive  fiirther  attention.  Orenburg  was  founded  in  1742;  Ashurada 
was  seized  in  1841  ;  the  left  bank  of  the  Amu  river  was  conquered  in 
1845  ;  Chemkend  was  taken  in  1864  and  Tashkend  the  next  year; 
half  of  Khokand  was  annexed  in  1867  ;  in  1868  the  Russians  captured 
Samarkand  and  completely  crushed  the  power  of  the  Emir  of 
Bokhara  ;  Krasnovodsk,  on  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Caspian  Sea,  was 
occupied  in  1869  and  Michaelovsk  founded  in  1870;  in  1871  the 
neighboring  portion  of  the  Turkoman  region  as  far  as  Kizl  Arvat  was 
annexed  ;  in  June,  1873,  Khiva  fell  and  was  brought  into  subjection 
to  the  Czar;  in  1876  the  remaining  half  of  Khokand  was  annexed  ;  in 
1881  the  Turkomans  were  conquered  by  Skobeleff  at  Geok  Tepe,  and 
soon  after  Merve  became  Russian.  Less  than  three  years  ago  also  the 
Czar  sent  his  explorers  and  soldiers  into  the  heart  of  the  Pamirs,  where 
China  and  Afghanistan  have  both  been  resisting  his  claims,  and  where 
England,  as  a  friend  of  the  latter,  has  stood  ready  to  oppose  them. 

And  never  has  Russia  been  compelled  to  recede  permanently  from 


24  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

any  advance  which  she  has  ever  made.  Her  retreats  in  the  Caucasus 
before  its  native  chiefs  and  the  power  of  Persia,  and  in  the  East  under 
Chinese  pressure,  have  always  been  temporary  in  their  character. 
She  knows  well  how  to  place  her  garrisons  and  preserve  her  conquests. 
We  have  already  seen  her  activity  in  pushing  out  railways  beyond  the 
Black  Sea  and  the  Caspian,  by  means  of  which  she  can  at  pleasure 
concentrate  her  forces  at  any  requisite  point  and  successfully  quell  any 
threatening  revolt.  See,  too,  how  the  great  Siberian  railway,  which 
was  projected  in  1890,  is  being  rapidly  thrown  across  Asia,  with  the 
prospect  of  its  being  completed  by  the  beginning  of  the  next  century, 
or  shortly  after,  if  not  before. 

As  announced  by  Peter  the  Great  and  his  successors,  the  object  of 
this  forward  movement  is  the  civilization  of  that  part  of  the  world. 
And  it  must  be  admitted  that  such  a  result  has  to  some  extent  taken 
place.  Wherever  the  Russian  flag  goes,  there  Eastern  slavery  at  once 
ceases  to  live,  and  those  cruel,  barbarous  methods  of  government 
which  everywhere  exist  among  Central-Asiatic  tribes  are  replaced  by  a 
system  more  orderly,  just  and  humane.  Safety  also  being  universally 
secured  by  Russian  arms,  agriculture,  manufactures  and  trade  have 
received  a  mighty  stimulus  and  are  adding  rapidly  to  the  wealth  and 
the  happiness  of  the  people.  The  Russians,  moreover,  and  especially 
the  Cossacks,  can  enter  into  the  feelings  of  conquered  Orientals  more 
fully  than  persons  of  English  blood,  can  draw  them  into  closer  rela- 
tion to  themselves  and  bring  them  up  more  rapidly  to  their  own  stand- 
ard of  civilization. 

Benevolence,  however,  cannot  be  admitted  to  be  the  only,  or  even 
the  chief,  motive  which  actuates  the  Russian  in  his  advancing  course. 
No  doubt  he  is  ambitious  also  and  is  striving  with  all  his  might  to 
secure  tlie  largest  and  most  powerful  empire  on  the  face  of  the  earth. 
Especially  is  he  jealous  of  Great  Britain  and  China,  his  most  formid- 
able rivals.  The  former  particularly  is  the  object  of  his  constant  envy 
and  opposition.  Both  as  an  ally  of  the  Sultan  and  the  ruler  of  a 
populous  Asiatic  empire,  Queen  Victoria  stands  much  in  the  way  of 
the  accomplishment  of  his  purposes.  Nor  is  the  threat  of  invading 
India  always  a  stratagem  intended  simply  to  weaken  her  and  her  ally's 
hold  upon  the  Dardanelles  and  hasten  his  own  conquest  of  Constanti- 
nople and  his  acquisition  of  the  outlet  of  the  Black  Sea.  Without 
doubt  he  has  designs  upon  India  itself  and,  in  spite  of  the  peaceful 
character  of  such  Czars  as  the  late  Alexander,  hopes  eventually  to  add 


FEARS   OF  INVASION-  25 

it  as  one  of  the  brightest  of  the  world's  gems  to  his  sovereign's 
crown. 

And  well  do  the  English  understand  this  object.  Nothing  haunts 
an  Anglo-Indian  more  than  the  fear  of  an  invasion  from  "the  king 
of  the  north."  Fitfully,  too,  has  he  taken  measures  to  prevent  such 
a  catastrophe.  In  1S69  a  zone  was  sought  which,  being  occupied  by 
a  friendly  power  and  being  recognized  at  the  same  time  by  Russia  as 
non-Russian,  might  act  as  a  buffer  to  ward  off  the  blows  of  his 
advancing  rival.  This  was  found  in  Afghanistan,  which  moreover — 
to  make  the  arrangement  doubly  sure — was  taken  into  still  closer 
friendship  with  England  than  it  had  been  before  and  heavily  subsi- 
dized. But  unfortunately,  even  with  a  change  of  Afghan  rulers,  even 
after  the  too  independent  Shere  Ali  gave  place  to  Yakub  Khan  and 
the  unfaithful  Yakub  Khan  was  supplanted  by  the  present  Amir, 
Abdurrahman,  this  friendship  never  became  very  cordial;  and,  what 
was  worse  still,  the  northern  boundary  of  Afghanistan  remained  in  the 
cloudy,  unsettled  condition  in  which  it  had  been  for  years.  Hence  it 
became  necessary,  not  only  to  guard  against  the  intrigues  of  Russia 
and  Afghanistan,  but  also  to  secure  a  boundary  between  them  south  of 
which  the  former  could  not  come.  This  led  to  the  appointment  in 
1884  of  what  is  called  the  Delimitation  Commission.  But  the  labors 
of  this  Commission  did  not  really  begin  until  1885,  when,  starting  at 
Sarrakhs  and  working  eastward,  it  erected  boundary  pillars  as  far  as 
the  Pamirs. 

The  first  four  years  of  the  period  under  special  review  were  there- 
fore years  of  anxiety  for  us.  This  reached  its  climax  in  the  spring  of 
1885,  when  tlie  "  incident  at  Penjdeh,"  as  it  is  called — that  is,  a 
quarrel  and  a  skirmish  between  the  Russian  and  Afghan  forces — 
occurred,  and  fears  were  entertained  that  war  between  the  two  great 
contending  powers  had  already  begun.  All  through  the  winter  of 
1884-85  great  military  activity  was  displayed  in  India.  Preparations 
were  made  for  forwarding  troops.  Soldiers  were  subjected  to  constant 
drill.  Sham  battles  (to  give  experience)  were  fought  near  the  various 
cantonments.  The  writer's  own  residence  at  Sialkot  was  often  in  the 
centre  of  such  contests  and  once,  at  least,  made  the  figurative  object 
of  attack. 

A  similar  but  less  violent  scare  also  occurred  in  the  spring  of  1887. 

What  we  missionaries  dreaded  most  was  the  confusion  which  would 
inevitably  arise  in  the  course  of  a  contest  for  supremacy. 


!fWB7;!:^:^^f^;f??fis^'X^;:m:r2')S^f!*S^ 


MOUNTAINEERS    IN  ACTION. 


(26) 


HUSSIAN  AND   ENGLISH  RULE    COMPARED 


It  mattered  comparatively  little  which  kingdom  exercised  authority 
over  us.  Both  are  nominally  Christian  governments  and,  as  Ameri- 
cans, we  might  hope  for  fair  treatment  even  from  Russia,  which,  in 
political  matters  at  least,  has  always  been  a  friendly  power.  True,  we 
greatly  preferred  the  English  as  our  rulers.  They  are  our  own  flesh 
and  blood  ;  they  represent  a  higher  civilization  ;  they  give  us  a  strong, 
just,  peaceful  rule ;  they  are  more  tolerant  of  non-conformists  and 
dissenters  than  Russians  are  ;  they  march  in  the  forefront  of  the 
world's  progress ;  they  furnish  us  more  aid  and  sympathy  in  our 
special  work  than  the  Czar  could  be  expected  to  give.  The  latter 
might  treat  us  as  he  does  the  Stundists. 

But  it  was  the  time  of  invasion,  conflict  and  possible  change  which 
after  all  we  most  feared.  From  time  immemorial  the  Punjab  has  been 
the  highway  for  invading  forces  and  the  great  battle-ground  for  con- 
tending armies.  Here  Aryan  Hindus,  Scythians,  Greeks,  Persians, 
Mongols,  and  various  Muhammadan  dynasties — even  the  English  them- 
selves— have  successively  met  their  opponents  and  had  many  of  their 
fiercest  and  most  decisive  contests.  Knowing  all  this,  our  imagination 
dwelt  somewhat  on  the  possibilities  of  the  future.  The  march  and 
countermarch  of  armies  past  our  doors,  the  raids  of  guerilla  bands  and 
the  slaughter  of  regular  engagements,  the  temporary  suspension  of 
civil  law,  the  incoming  of  fierce  Cossacks,  reckless  Turkomans  and 
fanatical  Afghans,  the  uncertainty  as  to  which  side  might  be  taken  by 
the  natives  around  us,  these  were  the  things  of  which  we  most  thought 
and  talked,  and  the  things  which  we  most  dreaded. 

Happily  we  were  not  called  upon  to  pass  through  such  an  experience. 
God  in  His  providence  continued  to  keep  us  under  British  rule  and 
Russia  is  still  far  away. 

But  why,  may  we  not  ask  in  concluding  this  section,  should  not 
these  two  great  powers  come  to  some  amicable  arrangement  by  which 
Afghanistan  would  be  divided  between  them,  their  boundaries  made 
contiguous,  and  the  terrible  (though  able)  despotism  of  such  rulers  as 
Abdurrahman  brought  to  an  end  ?  How  much  would  the  world  be 
a  gainer  thereby  ! 


CHAPTER  III 

BRITISH  RULE  IN  INDIA 

The  Machine,  Civil  and  Military — The  Viceroys  :  Lytton,  Dufferin,  Lansdowne 
and  Elgin — The  Lieut.-Governors  of  the  Punjab — Object  of  British  Rule  in 
India — How  it  Helps  and  How  it  Obstructs  Mission  Work. 

|HAT  is  the  character  of  British  Rule  in  India,  and  how  does 
it  affect  our  mission  work  ? 

The  Government  of  India  is  a  vast  and  complicated,  but 
smoothly  working,  machine,  controlled  in  all  its  departments 
— legislative,  executive  and  judicial — by  a  single  man  called  a  Viceroy 
and  Governor-General,  who  is  changed  every  four  or  five  years  at  the 
will  of  the  British  Government,  and  is  subject  in  a  large  degree  to  the 
will  of  the  Secretary  of  State  for  India,  who  resides  in  London,  is  as- 
sisted by  a  Council  of  retired  Anglo-Indians,  and  represents  the  reign- 
ing ministry,  which  in  turn  is  influenced  to  some  extent  by  the  chang- 
ing moods  of  Parliament  and  the  people  of  Great  Britain. 

Within  the  limits  of  native,  feudatory  states,  of  which  there  are  some 
eight  hundred  altogether — embracing  three-fifths  of  the  entire  territory 
and  three-thirteenths  of  the  entire  population — this  government  gives 
large  liberty  to  hereditary  princes  in  the  management  of  tlieir  own  do- 
minions; but  they  can  have  no  independent  foreign  policy  and  even 
their  internal  administration  is  subject  to  the  inspection  and  the  advice 
of  a  British  political  officer,  called  the  Resident. 

The  Governors  of  Bombay  and  Madras,  who  are  sent  out  from  Eng- 
land, as  the  Viceroy  himself  is,  on  account  of  their  rank  and  political 
prominence,  have  also  extensive  powers  of  their  own  and,  in  questions 
not  imperial,  communicate  directly  with  the  Home  Government,  and 
not  through  the  Viceroy. 

Other  British  territory,  however,  is  ruled  directly  by  the  Governor- 
General  and  his  assistants — as  also  is  the  whole  territory  in  regard  to 
matters  of  an  imperial  nature. 
(28) 


THE    RULERS  OE  INDIA  29 

Aid  in  this  is  derived  first,  from  Committees — Viceregal,  District 
and  Municipal  ;  secondly,  from  the  Civil  Service,  or  the  Staff  of 
Administration  ;  and  thirdly,  from  the  Military  Department. 

The  members  of  the  Viceregal  Council  are  appointed  for  ten  years. 
It  consists  for  ordinary  purposes  of  six  persons  selected  by  the  Crown. 
These  are  the  Commander-in-C'hief  of  the  Indian  Army,  a  legal  mem- 
ber, a  financier,  a  man  skilled  in  engineering  and  two  experienced 
members  of  the  Civil  Service.  For  purposes  of  legislation  twelve  more 
persons  are  added  on  the  nomination  of  the  Viceroy,  of  whom  one- 
half  must  be  non-official  persons  and  of  whom  some  are  always  natives. 
But  in  certain  cases  the  Governor-General  can  overrule  the  decisions 
of  this  Council.  District  and  Municipal  Committees  have  only  a 
limited  amount  of  local  power. 

The  Administration  Staff  consists  of  four  sections  :  First,  the  Cove- 
nanted Civil  Service,  which  is  composed  of  persons  ai)pointed  after 
competitive  examination  in  England,  who  go  out  to  India  under 
specially  favorable  rules.  Their  number  is  somewhat  less  than  one 
thousand  altogether.  These  are  divided  between  the  executive  and  the 
judicial  departments — the  highest  prize  of  the  former  being  a  Lieut. - 
Governorship  and  of  the  latter  a  Judgeship  in  the  High  Court.  About 
two-thirds  are  attached  to  what  is  called  the  Bengal  Civil  Service,  and 
the  rest  in  equal  proportions  to  the  Bombay  and  the  Madras  Services. 
Of  the  Bengal  Civil  Service  about  one-third  belong  to  Bengal  proper, 
one-third  to  the  Northwest  Provinces  and  Oude,  and  one-tenth  to 
the  Punjab,  while  the  remainder  are  distributed  to  Burma,  Assam  and 
other  points.  Secondly,  the  Statutory  Civil  Service  which  is  selected 
from  among  the  natives.  Many  of  its  appointments  are  in  the  gift  of 
Local  Governments.  Thirdly,  Military  officers  of  the  Staff  Corps  in 
civil  employ.  Fourthly,  a  large  class  of  uncovenanted  servants  of 
different  grades,  who  may  be  either  Europeans  or  natives.*  The 
number  of  first-class  appointments  eligible  to  natives  is  constantly  in- 
creasing. These  various  officers,  however  appointed,  rise  through 
merit  or  seniority  until  they  have  reached  a  certain  period  of  life  or 
service,  when  the  most  of  them  are  allowed  to  retire  on  a  pension 
which  Cas  well  as  their  graded  salary)  is  regulated  by  fixed  rules. 

Under  the  Viceroy,  next  in  order,  come  the  Governors,  Lieutenant- 
Governors  and    Chief   Commissioners,  who    (with    differing   powers) 

*See  Hazeir s  Annual  {ox  1893. 


30  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

stand  at  the  head  of  Provincial  Governments*  and  are  aided  by 
Commissioners,  Judges,  Deputy  Commissioners,  Assistant  Commis- 
sioners, Police  Magistrates  and  other  ofificers,  to  whom  labor, 
according  to  its  locality,  nature  and  importance,  is  distributed,  and 
through  whom  appeals  are  conducted  and  the  whole  machinery 
worked. 

The  highest  officer  of  the  Punjab,  where  we  labored,  has  the  rank 
of  a  Lieutenant-Governor,  Under  him  are,  not  only  a  High  Court 
and  Heads  of  Administration,  residing  at  Lahore,  but  also,  according 
to  the  reorganization  effected  in  1884,  six  Commissioners  of  Divisions 
and  thirty-one  Deputy  Commissioners — besides  a  host  of  subordinates. 
Deputy  Commissioners  usually  have  charge  of  separate  Districts  and 
are  the  officers  with  whom  we  missionaries  have  had  most  to  do. 
They  possess  a  measure  of  judicial  authority,  as  well  as  executive  con- 
trol ;  and  through  them  also  most  new  movements  originate. 

In  the  entire  civil  service  of  India  (covenanted  and  uncovenanted) 
there  are  perhaps  3000  persons  whose  salaries,  aside  from  allowances, 
vary  from  125  to  8333 f  rupees  a  month,  that  is  (estimating  according 
to  the  present  value  of  the  rupee),  from  about  40  to  2500  dollars. 
But  the  number  of  subordinate  officers  and  clerks  in  government  employ 
runs  up  to  tens  of  thousands. 

Supporting  this  civil  service  is  a  military  department  which  can  be 
employed  to  preserve  peace,  or  enforce  obedience,  when  necessary. 
This  consists  of  a  Commander-in-chief,;};  with  headquarters  at  the  seat 
of  General  Government,  a  regular  army  of  about  220,000  soldiers  (one- 
third  of  whom  are  European),  a  volunteer  force  (mostly  European  and 
Eurasian)  of  20,000  or  25,000  men,  and  a  drilled  police  organization 
of  200,000  natives,  officered  largely  by  Europeans — to  say  nothing 
of  the  armies  of  native  princes  which,  on  occasion,  have  been  offered 

*  Madras  and  Bombay,  the  territories  of  the  two  Governors,  are  called  Presiden- 
cies. 

f  This  amount  is  given  to  Lieut. -Governors ;  the  Governors  of  Madras  and 
Bombay  get  10,000  rupees  per  mensem  ;  the  Viceroy,  20,833  P^'"  rnensem  ;  or,  at 
present  rates  of  exchange,  nearly  twice  as  much  as  the  President  of  the  United 
States. 

\  Three  persons  have  successively  occupied  the  position  of  Commander-in-chief  in 
the  Indian  army  during  the  past  fourteen  years — Sir  Donald  Stewart,  down  to  the 
fall  of  1885  ;  Sir  Frederick  Roberts,  from  that  time  down  to  the  spring  of  1893,  and 
Sir  George  White  ever  since. 


LORDS  LYTTON  AXD   RIPON  81 

to  defend  the  empire  from  external  attacks.  These  various  forces  are 
stationed  at  different  points  throughout  the  country  so  tliat  they  can 
be  readily  used  in  any  quarter  in  any  given  emergency.  The  Punjab 
is  well  stocked  with  sokiiers  on  account  of  its  being  a  border  Prov- 
ince, and  because  it  lies  on  the  direct  route  to  and  from  Central 
Asia.  In  our  own  field  cantonments  are  located  at  Jhelum,  Sialkot 
and  Ravval  Pindi — the  last-named  said  to  be  the  largest  within  the 
bounds  of  the  British  Empire. 

During  the  period  of  which  I  am  specially  writing  several  viceregal 
changes  have  taken  place.  Lord  Lytton,  who  went  to  India  in  1S76, 
was  succeeded,  in  April,  1880,  by  the  Marquis  of  Ripon  ;  and  the 
latter,  January  13,  1885,  by  the  Earl  of  Dufiferin,  whose  term  ended 
December  13,  1888.  Then  came  the  Marquis  of  Lansdowne,  who 
gave  place  to  Earl  Elgin,  January  27,  1894. 

Politically  Lord  Lytton  was  a  Tory,  and  of  his  private  character 
(whether  justly  or  not)  men  did  not  speak  well.  Naturally,  therefore, 
our  mission  cause  was  not  much  aided  by  his  presence. 

Lord  Ripon  was  a  Roman  Catholic  pervert  from  Anglicanism  and 
in  politics  an  advanced  Liberal — a  strange  combination.  It  cannot 
be  said,  however,  that  he  allowed  his  religious  convictions  to  affect  his 
public  acts,  except  perhaps  that  he  took  special  pleasure  in  any  "  func- 
tions" which  tended  to  honor  and  establish  his  own  church,  and  also 
by  his  example  and  liberality  gave  it  substantial  aid.  His  wife  is  said 
to  have  been  a  decided  Protestant  of  the  Church  of  England  type. 
Lord  Ripon's  administration  has  been  much  praised  in  certain  quar- 
ters from  a  political  point  of  view;  but,  in  the  opinion  of  most  non- 
partisans, improperly.  Two  very  serious  defects  were  exhibited  in  his 
course — unwise  liberalism  and  a  disposition  (towards  the  last  at  least) 
to  play  the  demagogue.  Having  an  eye  to  the  approval  of  his  own  party 
in  England,  he  endeavored  to  carry  out  its  principles  in  the  government 
of  India  faster  than  the  people  were  prepared  to  put  them  in  practice,  and 
also  by  injudicious  speeches  excited  hopes  in  the  minds  of  the  turbulent 
and  disloyal  natives  which  could  not  possibly  be  gratified.  Hence, 
while  some  of  his  measures  were  good  and  may  lead  eventually  to  the 
safe  exercise  of  more  republican  methods,  his  reign  was  decidedly 
unsettling  in  its  character  and  tended  to  pit  foreigners  and  natives 
against  each  other  in  unhappy  conflict.  Never  during  our  whole  stay 
in  India  was  there  so  much  of  the  spirit  of  unrest,  strife  and  fear  of 
internal  commotion  as  during  the  time  when  what  is  called  the  Ilbert 


32  LIFE   AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

Bill  was  under  discussion  ;  that  is,  from  February  2,  1S83,  when  it  was 
introduced  into  the  Council,  to  January  25,  1884,  when  it  was  passed. 
This  bill,  as  first  prepared,  proposed  to  give  a  large  number  of  native 
magistrates,  even  in  outlying  districts,  that  jurisdiction  over  Euro- 
peans which  had  previously  been  exercised  only  by  European  officials. 
As  finally  adopted  it  was  shorn  of  its  most  obnoxious  features,  but  the 
feeling  aroused  by  this  as  well  as  other  measures  and  acts  of  Lord  Ripon 
never  became  fully  allayed  while  he  remained  in  power. 

Lord  Dufferin's  coming,  however,  seemed  like  oil  poured  upon  the 
troubled  waters.  His  great  reputation  as  an  able  and  experienced  ser- 
vant of  the  crown,  his  thorough  acquaintance  with  Oriental  character 
and  Russian  aggression,  his  moderate  political  views  as  a  Liberal 
Unionist,  and  his  smooth  and  cautious  methods  as  a  tried  diplomatist, 
excited  expectations  which  were  not  doomed  to  disappointment. 
Without  rudely  and  rashly  discarding  his  predecessor's  measures,  he 
yet  settled  down  to  that  quiet,  firm,  straightforward  policy  which  the 
country  so  much  needed,  and  in  the  place  of  doubt,  confusion  and 
bitterness  produced  confidence  and  internal  peace.  Perhaps  he  was 
too  reticent  and  diplomatic  in  his  public  utterances.  On  such  occasions 
he  had  the  art  of  pleasing  everybody  present,  without  revealing  any- 
thing, in  an  almost  unsurpassed  degree.  But  such  a  manner  involved 
the  loss  of  that  educating  influence  which  comes  from  greater  frank- 
ness.    Better  this,  however,  than  Lord  Ripon's  exciting  harangues. 

Lord  Dufferin's  aggressive  movements  were  reserved  for  his  foreign 
policy.  It  was  under  him  that  the  Amir  of  Afghanistan  was  brought 
to  more  satisfactory  terms,  the  work  of  boundary  delimitation  pushed 
forward  to  a  conclusion,  and  Upper  Burma  annexed  to  the  Indian 
Empire. 

Religiously  Lord  Dufferin  made  little  impression  on  the  country  ;  nor, 
apart  from  the  usual  trend  of  a  settled  governmental  policy,  did  he 
affect  our  mission  work.  He  was  too  much  of  a  diplomatist  to  show 
any  partiality  even  for  his  own  faith  ;  nor  did  any  of  his  public  sayings 
or  doings  indicate  that  he  took  a  very  deep  interest  in  the  spiritual  wel- 
fare of  India's  perishing  millions. 

Lord  Lansdowne,  a  Liberal  Unionist  also,  followed  largely  in  the 
footsteps  of  his  predecessor — although  in  a  more  open  and  less  mysteri- 
ous way.  The  most  signal  disturbance  of  his  administration  was  the 
Manipur  rebellion  ;  but  this  occurred  in  a  frontier  state.  Gener- 
ally   speaking,    India    proper    was    peaceful    and    happy    during    his 


L  OKD    LANSD  O IV NE 


33 


viceroyalty,  while  movements  tending  to  strengthen  the  empire, 
internally  and  externally,  went  on  without  interruption.  Towards 
the  last,  a  reorganization  of 
the  Viceregal  Council  was  ef- 
fected ;  and  under  Gladstone's 
regime  advancement  (wise  or 
unwise)  was  made  in  the  exten- 
sion of  the  privilege  of  suffrage 
and  the  bestowal  of  the  right  of 
self-government  upon  the  people. 

The  greatest  stain  upon  his  ad- 
ministration was  undoubtedly  his 
support  of  the  Contagious  Dis- 
eases Acts,  the  Opium  trade,  and 
the  Excise  Laws.  But  these  evils 
are  of  older  date,  and  were  up- 
held by  previous  Viceroys,  just 
as  they  have  all  along  had  their 
roots  also  in  the  home  govern- 
ment. Lansdowne's  reign,  how- 
ever, attained  an  unenviable 
prominence  in  the  persistent 
effort  which  he  and  his  assistants 

made,  to  retain  them,  and  that,  too,  in  the  face  of  parliamentary  acts 
and  the  righteous  indignation  of  a  Christian  public. 

Lord  Elgin,  the  successor  of  Lord  Lansdowne  on  the  viceregal 
throne  of  India,  was  the  third  choice  of  the  Gladstonian  government 
for  that  position,  Sir  Henry  Norman  and  Lord  Cromer  having  pre- 
viously declined  it.  His  father  held  the  same  post  thirty  years  pre- 
viously, and,  having  died  in  Lidia,  lies  buried  at  Dharmsala.  The  present 
Lord  Elgin  was  not  prominent  in  home  politics,  and  has  never  given 
evidence  of  high  administrative  ability;  but  he  is  said  to  make  on  the 
whole  a  very  good  Viceroy.  According  to  the  Simla  Times  he  is  per- 
sonally a  teetotaler,  strict  in  his  views  with  regard  to  balls,  parties,  and 
the  gaieties  of  life.  But  officially,  as  far  as  the  opium  traffic  and  other 
kindred  evils  are  concerned,  he  appears  to  walk  in  the  way  of  his  pred- 
ecessors, and  upholds  the  policy  which  from  a  moral  point  of  view  has 
proved  to  be  such  a  curse  to  the  country  and  to  the  entire  East. 

Of  Lieut. -Governors  we  have  had  four  in  the  Punjab  since  the  period 


LORD  LANSDOWNE. 


34  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

began  of  which  we  are  specially  writing — Sir  Robert  Edgerton,  who 
served  from  April  2,  1877,  until  April  2,  1882;  Sir  Charles  Aitchison, 
who  followed  him  and  ended  his  term  April  2,  1887;  Sir  James  Lyall, 
who  served  from  that  date  until  April  2,  1892;  and  Sir  Dennis  Fitz- 
patrick,  his  successor,  who  is  still  in  office. 

Of  all  these  high  officials  Sir  Charles  Aitchison,  more  than  any  other, 
impressed  his  own  ideas  upon  the  government  of  the  Province.  This, 
too,  was  specially  manifest  in  the  work  of  education  and  in  the  applica- 
tion of  the  principle  of  local  self-government.  He  was  recognized  as 
an  able  ruler,  with  liberal  ideas.  His  character  and  his  religious  views 
also  were  of  a  high  order.  He  was  always  ready  to  help  missions,  as 
far  as  the  law  would  allow,  by  expressions  of  sympathy  and  substantial 
gifts.     He  was  a  Scotch  Presbyterian. 

Sir  James  Lyall's  administration  was  less  vigorous  and  less  in  sym- 
pathy with  the  higher  movements  which  were  going  on  around  him. 
He  was  too  much  inclined  to  condone  the  bad  deeds  of  high  officials, 
and  censure  the  good  deeds  of  those  who  were  active  Christians.  It 
was  by  him  that  a  noted  profligate  judge,  condemned  both  by  public 
opinion  and  judicial  decision,  was  treated  tenderly  and  allowed  to  con- 
tinue in  office — a  disgrace  to  the  sacred  ermine.  And  it  was  during  his 
administration  that  another  member  of  the  Civil  Service  (Mr.  Drysdale,  a 
nephew  of  Dr.  Duff  and  a  son-in-law  of  Dr.  Morrison)  was  dismissed  from 
government  employ  for  his  activity  in  disseminating  Bible  truth.  Yet 
even  Sir  James  Lyall  could  not  help  aiding  mission  schools  and  hospitals 
when  such  aid  came  clearly  within  the  line  of  a  pronounced  government 
policy. 

Sir  Dennis  Fitzpatrick  is  a  Roman  Catholic,  and  has  the  reputation 
of  being  very  unpopular  with  his  fellow-officials  ;  but  as  far  as  missions 
are  concerned  he  has  proved  to  be  neither  a  help  nor  a  hindrance. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  British  Rule  in  India 
was  acquired  and  is  maintained  by  force,  and  that  the  primary  objects 
leading  to  its  establishment  and  continuance  have  been  commercial  prog- 
ress, personal  profit,  and  imperial  aggrandizement.  Hence  a  strong, 
vigilant  government  has  been  kept  up,  such  a  government  as  will  secure 
peace  and  safety,  develop  industry,  and  supply  honorable  places  for 
Britain's  sons. 

But  beyond  this  it  also  sets  before  itself  the  civilization  and  elevation 
of  the  natives  of  India,  and  their  preparation  for  such  freedom  as  is 
exercised  by  the  people  of  England  themselves  in  their  own  land.     In 


HOW  BRITISH  RULE   AIDS  MISSIONS  35 

private  addresses  and  communications,  moreover,  Anglo-Indian  officials 
have  gone  so  far  as  to  assert  that  the  Christian ization  of  India  also  was 
one  of  the  great  objects  of  their  occupation  of  the  land,  or  rather  an  ob- 
ject without  whose  accomplishment  they  could  not  hope  to  attain  the 
ends  officially  set  before  them,  secure  the  true  welfare  of  the  peoi)le  and 
justify  their  presence  in  the  country. 

Hence  British  Rule  is  in  many  ways  helpful  to  mission  work  in  India. 
It  secures  almost  perfect  safety  for  the  missionary  wherever  he  may  go 
throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land.  It  may  be  an  exaggera- 
tion to  say,  as  some  have  said,  that  a  white  lady  may  travel  from  one  end 
of  the  peninsula  to  the  other,  on  highway  or  byway,  with  as  little  fear 
of  molestation  as  she  can  in  England  or  America  ;  but  such  a  statement 
in  regard  to  many  parts  of  the  country  approaches  very  near  to  the 
truth.  British  authority  also  patrols  the  people  so  well  as  to  suppress 
in  large  measure  those  internal  feuds  and  conflicts  wliich  were  formerly 
common  in  the  country  and  which,  if  now  existent,  would  be  highly 
unfavorable  to  the  propagation  of  Scripture  truth.  It  secures  to  every 
individual  the  right  to  worship  God  according  to  the  dictates  of  his  own 
conscience — criminal  acts  excepted — and  hence  reduces  religious  perse- 
cution for  Christian  profession  to  the  smallest  possible  degree.  It 
abolishes,  or  condemns,  from  time  to  time,  old  laws  and  practices,  even 
if  they  are  based  on  Hindu  Shastras,  which  are  opposed  to  human  rights 
and  Christian  morals.  For  instance,  it  has  placed  among  criminal  or 
unlawful  acts  widow-burning  (1829),  infanticide,  exposure  of  children, 
disinheritance  of  Christian  converts  (1832  and  1850),  prohibition  of  the 
marriage  of  widows  (1856),  superstitious  intimidation,  exemption  of 
Brahmans  from  capital  punishment  (181 7),  slavery  (1848),  and  the  denial 
of  all  rights,  privileges  and  humanities  to  outcastes.  It  exhibits  in  its 
administration  a  remarkable  degree  of  fairness,  impartiality  and  justice  ; 
and,  as  far  as  Europeans  or  high-grade  native  officials  are  concerned, 
presents  such  an  ideal  of  truthfulness,  honesty,  incorruptibility  and 
paternal  regard  for  the  welfare  of  the  community  as  to  commend  the 
religion  with  which  it  is  connected  and  from  which  it  springs  to  the 
admiration  of  the  people. 

British  Rule  also  provides  telegraphic  and  postal  arrangements  of  a 
high  order,  excellent  means  of  travel  by  rail,  palanquin,  stage  and 
horse,  good  highways,  rest-houses  and  beasts  of  burden,  and  (in 
important  stations)  first-class  physicians — all  of  whicli  may  be  util- 


36  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

ized  by  a  missionary  to  his  own  advantage  and  the  advantage  of  his 
calling. 

It  opens  up  the  way  to  mission  work,  too,  by  its  system  of  schools 
and  colleges  and  its  efforts  to  diffuse  such  knowledge  as  may  dispel 
superstition,  undermine  false  faiths  and  prepare  the  people  for  an  intel- 
ligent and  comparatively  unprejudiced  reception  of  the  Gospel.  As 
foreign  missionaries  are  members  of  the  ruling  race  and  persons  of 
high  occupation,  it  ensures  them  also  such  political  rights  and  social 
standing  as  increase  greatly  their  prestige  and  make  them  respected  by 
all  classes  of  the  community. 

It  provides  liberally  for  the  religious  wants  of  its  Christian  soldiers 
and  employees,*  builds  beautiful  churclies  in  prominent  places  f  and, 
through  its  chaplaincies  J  and  spiritually-minded  adherents,  helps  to 
give  Christianity  a  name  and  an  influence  in  that  populous  land. 

It  aids  Missions  to  get  a  foothold  and  maintain  their  civil  rights  in 
Native  States,  as  was  the  case  ten  years  ago  (1884-85)  in  Indore.  It 
sustains  a  Mission's  right  to  hold  property  and  exempts  its  funds,  and 
sometimes  its  buildings,  from  special  taxation.  It  aids  Missions 
directly  by  donations  of  real  estate  (or  their  equivalent  in  money)  and 
by  grants-in-aid  to  their  schools,  dispensaries,  hospitals,  orphanages, 
leper  asylums  and  any  other  institutions  they  may  establish  which  are 
largely  benevolent  and  civilizing  in  their  character  and  thus  can  be 
considered  proper  objects  of  government  help. 

It  calls  on  missionaries  at  times  for  their  assistance  in  important 
investigations  and  in  the  preparation  of  laws  which  may  be  suited  to 
the  people's  wants.  It  bears  testimony  in  its  official  reports  to  the 
importance  and  the  excellence  of  any  work,  done  by  Missions  or  mis- 
sionaries, which  has  been  particularly  remarkable  for  its  elevating  and 
beneficent  influence.  And  finally,  through  the  semi-official  and 
unofficial  remarks  of  its  agents,  it  often  virtually  commends  even  the 
distinctive  work  of  a  missionary  in  Christianizing  the  country  and  dis- 
seminating Gospel  truth.     As  an  instance  of  the  last-named  benefit 

*  At  a  total  cost  of  about  twenty-two  lakhs  of  rupees  (oi-  $800,000) — so  says  the 
Civil  and  Military  Gazette  of  Jan.  i,  1889.  Yet  it  has  no  established  church, 
strictly  so  called. 

f  617  stations  and  out-stations. 

X  2\\  regular;  loo  aided;  total  341.  Of  these  215  are  Church  of  England, 
that  is,  Episcopalian;  76,  Roman  Catholic;  22,  Presbyterian;  and  28,  Wesleyan  or 
non-conformist. — Sir  Theodore  Hope  in  the  London  Times  of  Feb.  21,  1893. 


HOW   THE    GOVERNMENT  RETARDS  MISSIONS  37 

and  in  confirmation  of  much  tliat  has  just  been  written  may  be  quoted 
what  Sir  Cliarles  Elliott,  the  Lieut. -Governor  of  Bengal,  is  reported 
to  have  said  at  a  Christian  meeting  in  Darjeeling,  May  13,  1892. 
"As  the  head  of  the  Bengal  government,"  he  remarked,  "I  feel  that 
the  missionaries  are,  so  to  speak,  an  unrecognized  and  unofficial 
branch  of  the  great  movement  in  which  we  are  all  engaged,  and  which 
alone  justifies  our  presence  in  the  country.  They  occupy  a  field 
which  the  officers  of  the  government  are  unable  to  take  up.  In 
religious  matters  we  have  to  treat  all  alike,  and  to  show  no  more  con- 
sideration for  one  faith  than  for  another  j  and  yet  we  know  right  well 
that  the  only  hope  for  the  realization  of  our  dream,  and  for  the  eleva- 
tion and  development  of  the  people,  lies  in  the  evangelization  of 
India,  and  we  know  that  the  people  who  are  carrying  on  this  work  are 
the  missionaries.  It  is  they  who  are  filling  up  what  is  deficient  in  the 
efforts  of  the  government,  by  devoting  their  lives  and  their  labors  to 
bringing  the  people  of  India  to  the  knowledge  of  Christ." 

But  there  is  another  side  to  this  picture.  British  Rule  has  not 
always  been  helpful  to  the  cause  of  Christ  in  India,  and  in  some 
respects  has  been  positively  injurious. 

The  very  fact  that  Christianity  in  a  general  sense  is  the  religion  of 
the  governing  power  and  receives  civil  protection  and  commendation 
gives  it  a  prestige  with  some  aspiring  people  that  works  unfavorably  in 
the  production  of  false  and  insincere  converts;  while  on  the  other 
hand  this  same  fact  brings  the  Gospel  into  bad  odor  with  a  different 
class  of  persons  (those  who  hate  the  government)  and  prejudices  them 
against  it.  True,  American  missionaries  have  an  advantage  over  Brit- 
ish missionaries  in  reference  to  this  matter,  because  they  can  disclaim 
all  connection  whatever  with  the  government  and  the  government's 
representatives,  receiving  as  they  do  their  commission  and  their  sup- 
port from  an  alien  land  and  a  voluntary  church.  But  this  does  not 
detract  greatly  from  the  force  of  the  statement  which  has  just  been 
made. 

Again,  that  type  of  Christianity  which  is  supported  by  the  Indian 
government  and  exhibited  by  its  agents  is  often  so  low  in  its  tone  and 
so  deficient  as  a  model,  that  earnest,  evangelical  laborers  are  hindered 
rather  than  helped  by  its  presence. 

Owing  also  to  the  ease  with  which  false  testimony  can  be  secured, 
justice  often  miscarries  and  numbers  of  innocent  people  are  heavily' 
fined  or  thrown  into  prison;  while  the  importance  given  to  a  written 


38  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

contract  in  judicial  contests  frequently  becomes  the  means  of  increas- 
ing the  native  money-lender's  usurious  oppression  and  extortion.  In 
this  way  that  ideal  of  impartial  fairness  and  complete  justice  which 
naturally  belongs  to  British  Rule,  and  which  has  been  referred  to  as 
an  important  means  of  recommending  that  Christianity  which  Britons 
profess,  often  becomes  greatly  obscured  and  loses  its  attractive  power 
— or  rather,  becomes  repellent  in  its  influence. 

The  neutral  position  which,  as  Sir  Charles  Elliott  says,  government 
must  assume  in  dealing  officially  with  different  religions,  is  itself  mis- 
understood by  many  natives  and  attributed  more  to  a  lack  of  faith  in 
Christianity  than  to  the  principle  of  evenhanded  justice  ;  while  the 
gift  in  various  ways  of  vastly  more  money,  or  its  equivalent,  for  the 
support  of  native  faiths  than  is  given  for  the  support  of  the  Gospel, 
produces  the  same,  if  not  a  worse,  effect. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  too,  the  government  does  not  allow  even  as 
much  freedom  to  its  Christian  servants,  or  others,  in  propagating  their 
religious  tenets  as  it  does  to  Hindus  and  Muhammadans.  How  it 
acted  in  the  case  of  Mr.  Drysdale  has  already  been  mentioned.  Ref- 
erence might  also  be  made  to  the  manner  in  which  it  discriminated 
against  the  Salvation  Army  in  Bombay,  by  stopping  their  street  pro- 
cessions and  imprisoning  some  of  their  officers  in  the  year  1883 — thus 
denying  rights  to  these  people  which  were  freely  granted  to  the  propa- 
gators of  all  other  religions. 

And  what  shall  we  say  of  its  abolition  of  the  law  of  the  Sabbath 
during  Lord  Lytton's  administration  and  its  constant  violation  of  the 
command  to  keep  God's  day  holy,  especially  in  the  management  of  its 
railways  and  public  works,  or  of  those  other  foul  blots  on  government 
morals:  its  opium  trade,  its  excise  system  and  its  "regulation"  of 
the  social  evil.  Hardly  anything  in  all  the  annals  of  civilized  or  semi- 
civilized  nations  exceeds  the  disgraceful  wickedness  of  its  persistance 
(for  financial  reasons  alone)  in  raising  and  selling*  a  drug  like  opium, 
which  destroys  physically  and  morally  so  many  thousands — yes,  we 
may  truthfully  say,  so  many  millions — of  the  human  race,  and  doing 
so,  too,  not  only  among  its  own  people,  but  also  among 
people  of  other  lands ;  and  more  than  this,  forcing  it  at  the  point  of 

*  The  production  of  opium  has  been  a  government  monopoly  for  more  than  a  hun- 
dred years.  Cultivators  undertake  to  deliver  the  whole  product  at  a  contract  price 
to  government  agents,  who  dispose  of  it  monthly  at  auction,  to  exporters,  or  issue  it 
to  the  excise  department  for  consumption  in  India. 


GREAT  PUBLIC  F.VILS  39 

the  sword  into  the  markets  of  unwilling  nations  (especially  China), 
and  thus  insuring  their  increased  demoralization.  Less  evil,  it  may  be, 
is  the  system  by  which  it  derives  a  revenue  from  the  manufacture  and 
the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquor  as  a  beverage,  but  only  because  it  is 
narrower  in  its  range,  less  compulsory  in  its  character,  and  less  sweep- 
ing in  its  effects.  While  more  disgusting  than  either  is  the  third  evil 
mentioned — the  provision  which,  under  the  plea  of  protecting  the  sol- 
diers from  contagious  diseases,  it  makes  (or  has  made)  for  the  safe 
gratification  of  their  depraved  lusts  ;  and  that,  too,  in  the  face  of  over- 
whelming opposition  from  the  Christian  people  of  England  and  even 
the  adverse  action  of  Parliament  itself. 

In  view  of  all  these  things  it  can  be  easily  imagined  how  much  in 
the  government  missionaries  have  to  contend  against,  or  explain  away, 
in  order  that  they  may  secure  for  the  Gospel,  among  the  natives  of 
India,  an  unprejudiced  hearing  and  unimpeded  power. 

Still,  taking  all  in  all,  we  are  thankful  that  our  political  situation  is 
as  good  as  it  is.  In  no  heathen  country  throughout  the  world,  per- 
haps, can  better  civil  conditions  be  found  for  the  spread  of  divine 
truth.  We  know  of  no  other  government  which  we  would  import  into 
India  and  take  in  exchange  for  a  British  Viceroyalty. 


CHAPTER  IV 

CLIMATIC  CONDITIONS 

The  Monsoons— The  Hot  Season— The  Rains— Hail,  Dust  Storms  and  Earthquakes. 

|EW  things  modify  mission  work  in  India  more  than  the 
character  of  its  climate.  Our  own  field  lies  between  the 
thirtieth  and  the  thirty-fourth  degree  of  north  latitude 
and  is  mostly  plains.  These  plains  are  from  500  to  iioo 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  On  the  northeast  side  are  the  Hima- 
laya Mountains,  which  rise  in  successive  ranges  to  the  region  of 
perpetual  snow.  In  Jhelum  the  Salt  Range  also  breaks  the  monotony 
of  the  general  level  and  throws  up  peaks  to  the  height  of  3000  feet. 

There  being  no  barrier  between  us  and  the  seacoast,  the  winds  which 
sweep  across  the  Indian  Ocean  and  the  Arabian  Sea  every  summer  in 
their  northeastern  flight  and  lick  up  and  carry  forward  great  quantities 
of  moisture  in  their  progress,  prese  on  uninterruptedly  until  they  reach 
our  field  and  lose  their  freight  in  successive  rains.  Hence  we  have 
every  summer  what  is  called  a  barsat,  or  rainy  season.  This,  roughly 
speaking,  includes  the  months  of  July  and  August,  preceding  which 
are  three  months  of  great  heat  and  drought. 

These  seasons  (of  rain  and   heat)   are  the  two  most  characteristic 
features  of  our  India  climate;  while  the  sharper  winters  of  the  Punjab 
also  distinguish  it  from  most  other  parts  of  India.     After  the  barsat 
'  we  have  dry  weather,  which  gets  gradually  colder   until    mid-winter, 
when  a  few  showers  of  rain  fall.     Then  the  thermometer  in   some  dis- 
tricts of  the  Punjab  will  reach  freezing  three  or  four  mornings  in   suc- 
cession and  ice  will  be  formed  an  eighth  of  an  inch  thick — only  to 
melt,  however,  as  soon  as  the  sun  rises.     This,  our   coldest   weather, 
usually  occurs  about  the  first  day  of  February.     But  in  rare  instances 
snow  has  been  known  to  fall  also  at  some  of  the  most  elevated  stations 
on  the  plains.     It  did  so  at  Rawal  Pindi  during  the  winter  of  1892-93. 
The  heat  which  we  experience  in  April,  May  and  June  constantly 
(40) 


THE   HOT  SEASON'  41 

increases  in  intensity  until  it  is  modified  by  the  rains  about  June 
2oth  or  25th  ;  but  the  whole  period  is  remarkably  hot.  Even  in 
April  the  thermometer  often  rises  to  100°  Fahrenheit  in  the  shade, 
while  the  number  of  days  in  May  and  June  when  it  does  not  reach 
this  height  is  comparatively  few.  The  average  maximum  for  May, 
1884,  at  Sialkot  was  105.5°;  f^""  the  first  twenty-four  days  of  June 
104.17°,  and  on  only  nine  days  during  this  period  did  the  mercury 
fail  to  reach  100°,  while  on  twelve  days  the  thermometer  read  110° 
or  more,  and  once  117.5°.  The  hottest  years  during  tlie  period  of 
which  I  am  specially  writing  were  1887  and  1888.  The  mean  of  the 
highest  daily  readings  in   the  shade  and  the  sun  during  1887  was   as 

follows : 

In  the  shade.  In  the  sun. 

For  April                                 99-2°  ^53-5° 

"     May                                  110.68°  163.57° 

«'     June                                  107.1°  160.4° 

"     whole  quarter                  1057°  150-2° 

The  total  number  of  days  in  the  same  quarter  of  1888  when  the 
thermometer  rose  above  100°  was  63;  number  above  105°  was  40 ; 
number  above  110°  was  24;  number  above  115°  was  10.  The 
highest  heat  registered  in  the  shade  at  any  time  during  the  decade 
(1882-92)  was  about  118.5°.  ^^'^  i*^  is  said  that  sometimes  the 
temperature  rises  to  125°  or  130°.  It  is  during  this  season  that  the 
luh  blows — that  steady,  hot,  dry,  southwestern  wind  which  burns 
one's  cheek  like  air  from  a  heated  furnace,  and  absorbs  every 
particle  of  moisture  lying  in  its  pathway. 

At  such  seasons,  outside  work  must  be  done  mornings  and  evenings. 
Schools  begin  at  5.30  a.  m.  and  close  at  11.30.  Morning  church 
service  is  held  at  6  or  7  a.  m.  Traveling  is  usually  done  at  night. 
Foreigners  cannot  venture  out  much  without  pith  or  cork  hats  and 
umbrellas.  During  the  day  houses  are  closed  to  keep  out  the  heat. 
Punkhas  (large  fans  hanging  from  the  ceiling  and  pulled  with  ropes  by 
coolies)  are  set  in  motion  and  other  devices  adopted  to  secure  a  cer- 
tain degree  of  comfort.  Even  at  night  the  air  will  sometimes  remain 
above  blood  heat  and  bed  clothing  will  feel  hot  to  the  touch.  Per- 
haps the  most  uncomfortable  time  is  just  when  the  rains  begin,  when 
the  temperature  is  very  high  and  the  air  full  of  moisture,  when 
perspiration  sticks  to  the  body  and  no  relief  is  given  by  its  evaporation. 

On  the  plains  rain,  even  in  the  barsai  (the  chief  wet  season),  does 


42  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

not  usually  come  every  day  ;  but  sometimes  the  fall  during  a  downpour 
is  very  heavy  and  occasionally  storms  are  accompanied  by  thunder  and 
lightning.  The  seasons  of  1886,  1890,  and  1893  were  very  remark- 
able in  this  particular  at  Sialkot  and  indeed  throughout  the  Punjab. 
In  the  latter  part  of  July,  1886,  sixteen  and  one-half  inches  of  rain 
fell  during  thirty-six  hours  in  the  Sialkot  cantonment,  producing 
a  flood  such  as  had  not  been  seen  for  ten  or  twelve  years.  During  the 
week  beginning  August  4,  1890,  24.31  inches  of  rain  fell  at  Sialkot — 
the  fall  varying  each  day  from  half  an  inch  to  full  ten  inches.  The 
latter  amount  came  down  August  loth,  and  almost  all  of  it  within  the 
space  of  six  or  seven  hours  on  that  day.  Even  this  cloudburst,  how- 
ever, was  surpassed  in  some  other  places.  At  Surat  twelve  inches 
of  rain  fell  in  twenty-four  hours  and  at  Mahura  (Bombay  Province) 
fifteen  inches  in  twenty-four  hours. 

Of  course  great  damage  is  done  by  such  deluges  in  a  country  where 
most  of  the  houses  are  built  of  sundried  brick.  It  is  calculated  that 
700  buildings  were  destroyed  at  Sialkot  in  1890  by  the  storms 
above-mentioned  ;  while  several  persons  were  either  killed  or  badly 
injured.  At  Mahura  seventy-four  lives  were  lost,  305  cattle  killed  and 
1027  houses  ruined.  In  July,  1893,  Rawal  Pindi,  Bhera  and  Jhelum 
suffered  terribly  from  floods.  The  river  Jhelum  rose  very  suddenly 
and  swept  through  the  streets  and  bazars  of  the  last-named  city,  and 
the  houses  and  shops  "just  melted  down."  Half  the  place  became  a 
mass  of  ruins.  Nothing  of  our  church  was  left  but  the  front  wall,  and 
Dr.  Johnson's  dispensary  and  surgical  instruments  were  badly  damaged. 
The  dispensary  in  Bhera  was  also  washed  away. 

But  it  is  on  the  hills  that  we  see  the  greatest  and  most  continuous 
rains.  Our  chief  sanitarium,  Dharmsala,  has  an  unenviable  pre-eminence 
in  this  particular — probably  because  it  lies  so  near,  and  just  under, 
the  high  range  of  mountains  which  stops  almost  all  the  clouds  in  their 
northern  flight  and  causes  them  to  precipitate  their  moisture.  For 
two  or  three  months  perfectly  dry  days  are  almost  unknown  there, 
while  often  the  clouds  pour  down  their  contents  in  great  floods.  The 
first  week  of  August  is  the  usual  climax,  when  hardly  an  hour  passes 
without  rain.  During  the  year  1888,  103.05  inches  of  rain  fell  at  that 
station;  133-89  inches  in  1889;  117. 41  inches  in  1890 — from  April 
to  September  inclusive ;  while  it  is  said  that  during  one  twelve-month 
some  years  ago  the  rainfall  reached  almost  200  inches,  or  over  sixteen 


HAIL   AND   EARTHQUAKES  43 

feet.  On  July  31,  1890,  as  much  as  6.22  inches  fell;  August  19, 
1890,  6.52  inches;  and  July  10,  1889,  8.2  inches. 

Hail  often  falls  during  the  hot  weather  on  the  plains,  and  sometimes 
the  stones  are  as  large  as  hens'  eggs,  endangering  the  lives  of  both  man 
and  beast.  At  hill  stations,  snow  gets  to  be  several  feet  deep  during 
the  winter.  In  the  winter  of  1892-93,  it  was  said  to  have  had  a  depth 
of  fifteen  feet  at  Murree.  Dust  storms  {andhies)  characterize  the  hot 
and  dry  weather  of  every  season  on  the  lowlands.  These  appear  to  be 
currents  of  colder  air,  highly  charged  with  electricity,  rushing  down 
from  the  upper  strata.  Sometimes  they  take  the  form  of  whirlwinds; 
always  they  dash  along  with  great  force,  bearing  in  their  bosom  clouds 
of  dust  and  sand.  Although  for  the  moment  very  disagreeable,  com- 
pelling us  to  close  all  the  doors  and  windows  of  our  houses,  they  gener- 
ally bring  some  relief  from  the  heat  and  answer  in  this  respect  the  pur- 
pose of  rain  storms.  The  thermometer  has  been  known  to  fall  14° 
within  an  hour's  time  through  the  occurrence  of  such  a  phenomenon. 

Earthquakes  are  quite  frequent  in  the  Punjab,  and  in  elevated  parts 
very  destructive.  One  which  occurred  during  the  night  of  May  29  and 
30,  1885,  shook  the  wliole  region  around  us  and  north  of  us,  develop- 
ing a  centre  apparently  in  Kashmir,  where  it  overturned  houses,  rent 
hills  and  made  great  havoc.  Over  three  thousand  persons  and  ten 
times  as  many  sheep,  goats,  cattle  and  horses  perished  in  this  catas- 
trophe. Some  villages  lost  their  entire  population,  thousands  of  dwell- 
ings were  destroyed  and  great  fissures  left  in  the  earth,  or  depressions 
made,  which  were  still  visible  six  years  afterwards,  when  the  writer 
visited  the  valley. 

All  these  physical  and  climatic  conditions  modify  our  life  and  work 
in  that  country.  They  affect  greatly  our  health,  our  personal  habits, 
our  metliods  and  time  of  itineration,  our  migration  to  and  from  the 
hills,  our  style  of  buildings  and  our  periodical  visits  to  America.  No 
wonder  the  primitive  Aryans  exalted  the  Sun  (Surya),  the  Rain  (Indra), 
and  the  Storm  (the  Maruts)  to  the  highest  rank  in  their  pantheon. 
These  forces  of  nature  even  yet  exercise  there  a  dominating  power  over 
man  and  beast. 


H  'i 

PP 

^ 

I^WB^ 

^^ 

!^ 

S^ 

&' 

w\a5j(r)^ 

!n^5^ 

i  1^^ 

•x^^\y 

;ti)^ 

^4 

^ 

2 

&I 

ITO^Jij^^^^^ 

U    llti^' 

id 

CHAPTER  V 
SANITARY  CONDITIONS 

Unfavorable  to  Health — Deaths  by  Violence — Experience  with  Snakes  and  Scor- 
pions— Diseases — Cholera,  Small-pox  and  Fever — Health  Resorts — Dharmsala, 
Murree  and  Kashmir — Their  Drawbacks. 


N  regard  to  health,  physical  strength  and  longevity  we  find 
many  unfavorable  conditions  in  that  part  of  India  where 
our  mission  work  is  carried  on. 

True  the  population  of  the  country  is  increasing  at  the 
rate  of  nearly  one  per  cent,  per  annum,  and  old  people  are  often  seen 
there,  the  limit  of  life  being  about  the  same  as  in  the  United  States  of 
America.  Occasionally,  too,  extraordinary  longevity  may  be  observed. 
A  Muhammadan  woman  died  at  Mian  Mir,  near  Lahore,  some  years 
ago,  who  was  credited  with  having  reached  the  advanced  age  of  150 
years.  The  grandson,  at  whose  house  she  expired,  was  himself  eighty 
years  of  age,  having  children  and  grandchildren  married. 

Still  these  facts  do  not  disprove  the  statement  made  at  the  outset  of 
this  chapter.  Exceptions,  of  course,  will  always  occur;  and  the  chief 
reason  for  the  rapid  increase  of  the  population  is  simply  this :  adults 
there  almost  universally  marry,  marry  early  and  have  large  families. 
This  practice  is  viewed  as  almost  a  religious  duty. 

But  through  neglect,  ill  treatment,  physical  violence,  bad  food,  bad 
water,  insufficient  clothing,  accidents  and  lack  of  medical  remedies, 
thousands  of  infants  and  small  children  (especially  females)  perish, 
while  diseases  of  various  kinds,  and  other  causes,  carry  off  every  year 
multitudes  of  the  remainder. 

During  the  year  1883,  20,571  persons  in  India  were  killed  by  snakes 
and  2399  by  wild  animals.  In  1888,  20,067  were  killed  by  snakes;  985 
by  tigers;  287  by  wolves;  217  by  leopards,  and  1139  by  other  animals. 
And,  though  hundreds  of  dangerous  beasts  and  thousands  of  venomous 
serpents  are  destroyed  every  year,  the  annual  mortality  from  their  at- 
(44) 


WILD  ANIMALS  AND   SNAKES 


45 


tacks  remains  about  the  same.  The  Punjab,  however,  is  less  affected 
from  this  cause  than  almost  any  other  Province  in  India.  During  the 
year  iS86  only  115  7  persons  were  killed  here  by  snakes  and  wild  beasts. 
Of  these,  scorpions  killed  six  persons ;  wolves  four  ;  jackals  eleven ; 
leopards  five;  and  bears  two.  And  during  the  year  1890  only  834  per- 
sons were  reported  as  killed  by  snakebite,  and  thirty-one  from  the 
attacks  of  leopards,  bears,  hyenas,  wolves  and  other  animals.  Some 
poisonous  snakes  are  found  at  our  own  stations  on  the  plains  and  some 
dangerous  animals  (especially  bears  and  leopards)  at  Dharmsala,  our 
principal  summer  refuge  ;  but  only  now  and  then  has  a  casualty  oc- 
curred within  the  range  of  our  personal  knowledge. 

Yet  we  sometimes  have  unpleasant  experiences  with  snakes  that  may 
or  may  not  be  poisonous.  Once  a  serpent  fell  on  the  floor  of  the 
writer's  dining-room  at  Sialkot  from  the  neighborhood  of  the  roof;  at 
another  time  one  fell  near  the  head  of 
the  bed  where  he  was  sleeping ;  on  a 
third  occasion,  at  Dharmsala,  one  was 
found  near  his  little  boy  (eighteen 
months  old)  in  the  corner  of  the  room 
where  he  was  playing  with  his  toys; 
on  a  fourtli  occasion  one  was  killed 
under  the  window-sill  beside  the  bed 
on  which  a  lady  missionary  had  been 
reposing ;  and  on  a  fifth  occasion  a 
snake  was  killed  in  the  same  lady's 
dressing-room.  Miss  E.  Gordon  says, 
"  I  once  jumped  out  of  the  door  of  my 
room  screaming,  while  a  snake,  with  its 
forked  tongue  out,  jumped  in  at  tlie 

same  door."  The  Rev.  A.  B.  Caldwell  also  speaks  of  killing  a  cobra 
near  his  bath-room,  and  a  karait  in  the  bath-room  itself,  as  well  as  other 
similar  experiences.  Often,  too,  we  had  trouble  with  scorpions  as  well 
as  snakes,  killing  in  our  own  house  alone  at  Dharmsala  twenty  or  twenty- 
five  of  these  dreaded  creatures  almost  every  season.  Sometimes  they 
get  into  shoes  and  clothing  that  are  left  on  the  floor  over  night;  and 
once  we  found  a  big,  black  specimen  under  one  of  our  pillows. 

Of  diseases,  the  most  fatal  in  our  part  of  the  country  are  usually 
cholera,  small-pox,  bowel  complaints  and  fever;  and  that,  too,  in  the 
order  named — fevers  being  by  far  the  most  destructive  of  all  to  human 


46  LIFE  AND  WORK  IN  INDIA 

life.*  But  we  have  also  many  cases  of  pulmonary  trouble,  dyspepsia, 
heat  apoplexy,  liver  complaint,  spleen,  and  eye  disease.  In  1889,  when 
the  death-rate  slightly  exceeded  the  average  for  the  previous  five  years, 
the  number  of  deaths  from  cholera  reported  in  the  Punjab,  where  the 
total  population  is  25,061,956,  was  2858  ;  from  small-pox,  7928;  from 
bowel  complaints,  18,066;  and  from  fevers,  428,712.  In  1888,  there 
were  14,938  deaths  from  cholera ;  f  16,938  from  small-pox;  and 
379,893  from  fever.  In  1890,  there  were  fewer  deaths  from  bowel 
complaints  than  in  1889,  and  only  a  itvf  more  fatal  cases  of  small-pox; 
but  cholera  was  very  prevalent,  and  the  mortality  from  fever  was  some- 
thing phenomenal. 

Indeed  that  year  was  the  unhealthiest  known  in  the  Province  since 
1868,  when  the  system  of  recording  births  and  deaths  was  introduced  ; 
999  municipal  towns  and  2402  villages  were  visited  by  cholera ;  while 
in  many  places  scarcely  an  individual  escaped  without  an  attack  of 
fever.  Rawal  Pindi,  one  of  our  present  Districts,  suffered  more  than 
any  other  in  the  Punjab  during  the  year  1888,  losing  fifty  out  of  every 
thousand  of  its  inhabitants.  But  Sialkot,  Gujrat  and  Gujranwala 
suffered  most  in  1890.  The  first-named  out  of  a  population  of  about 
1,100,000  lost  103,360,  or  nearly  ten  per  cent,  of  the  whole.  About 
two-thirds  of  this  mortality  occurred  in  the  quarter  ending  November 
30th,  and  one-third  during  the  month  of  October.  The  number  of 
deaths  in  one  week,  October  5th  to  nth,  was  8663 — that  is,  at  the  rate 
of  forty  per  cent,  yearly. 

Cholera,  perhaps,  makes  the  most  stir  and  creates  the  greatest  panic 
— ^just  because  it  strikes  so  unexpectedly  and  produces  such  fearful 
agonies.  And  sometimes  it  is,  indeed,  very  destructive.  In  1892,  as 
many  as  10,000  are  said  to  have  died  of  this  disease  in  the  Sialkot  Dis- 
trict alone.  But,  even  at  its  worst,  it  does  not  carry  off  one  twenty- 
fifth  as  many  of  the  people  of  the  Punjab  as  fever  does.  In  all  India, 
however,  it  is  estimated  that  there  are  nearly  420,000  fatal  cases  of  this 
disease  in  a  single  year. 

Small-pox  would  exhibit  a  larger  mortality  than  it  does  were  it  not 
for  the  excellent  system  of  vaccination  established,  although  even  now 
125,500  persons  are  said    to   die   annually  of  this   malady    in  India. 

*  It  is  said  that  3,500,000  persons  die  annually  of  fever  in  India. 

t  That  year  fifty  per  cent,  of  the  cases  were  fatal.  Two-thirds  of  the  Europeans 
attacked  in  Rawal  Pindi  and  Murree  died.  It  was  also  more  fatal  to  Muhammadans 
than  to  Hindus. 


FEVERS  AND   MEDICAL    SCIENCE  47 

Government  agents  arc  found  at  all  central  places  whose  sole  business 
it  is  to  go  around  to  the  houses  of  the  people  and  vaccinate  everybody 
without  charge,  using  lymph  taken  directly  from  a  living  child's  arm 
or  a  living  calf's  body.* 

Fevers  are  generated  after  a  rainy  season  by  the  action  of  the  hot  sun 
upon  the  saturated  earth  and  rank  vegetation,  drawing  forth  their  nox- 
ious vapors  and  miasmatic  influences.  Hence  they  are  more  common 
in  the  fall  and  early  winter  than  at  any  other  season  ;  but  no  period 
of  the  year  shows  entire  freedom  from  tlieir  presence.  Of  the  different 
kinds  which  are  prevalent,  "intermittent,  remittent,  typhus  and  ty- 
phoid may  be  mentioned — typhus  in  some  places  being  endemic. 
Typhoid  fever  is  very  common  among  young  European  officers  and 
soldiers.  One  great  reason  why  fevers  prove  so  fatal  to  the  natives  is 
because  they  seldom  can  procure  good  nursing  or  good  medical  treat- 
ment. Although  the  government  does  admirably  wherever  it  has  es- 
tablished dispensaries  and  hospitals,  it  cannot  reach  easily  the  great  mass 
of  the  people  who  live  at  a  distance  from  them  ;  and  native  doctors,  who 
pretend  to  give  medicine  according  to  the  old  Greek  or  the  Hindu 
system,  are  usually  quacks. 

Medical  science  appears  to  have  had  considerable  development  in 
India  before  the  Christian  era ;  but  its  best  period  was  contemporary 
with  the  ascendency  of  Buddhism  (250  B.  c.  to  600  A.  D.),  during 
which  public  hospitals  were  established  in  many  cities.  When  Bud- 
dhism passed  into  modern  Hinduism  (600-1000  a.  d.)  it  greatly  de- 
generated, chiefly  through  the  increasing  stringency  of  caste  rules,  and 
the  abolition  of  hospitals.  Mussalman  doctors,  or  hakims,  came  in 
with  the  progress  of  Muhammadan  conquests,  bringing  with  them  a  new 
school  of  medicine.  At  present,  however,  little  knowledge  even  of 
their  own  systems  is  sought,  or  acquired,  by  those  who  pretend  to  heal 
disease  according  to  the  ancient  methods.  "Hindu  medicine,"  says 
Sir  William  Hunter,  "  has  sunk  into  the  hands  of  the  village  kabiraj, 
whose  knowledge  consists  of  jumbled  fragments  of  the  Sanskrit  texts 
and  a  by  no  means  contemptible  pharmacopoeia,  supplemented  by  spells, 
fasts  and  quackery."  f  And  those  hakims  who  claim  to  be  of  the 
Grecian  School  are  no  better.     They  seem  to  classify  all  diseases  and 

*One  objection  to  vaccination,  however,  is  the  suspicion  that  it  sometimes  propa- 
gates leprosy  and  other  diseases.  A  child  of  one  of  our  missionaries  once  suffered 
very  seriously  and  very  mysteriously  from  the  effects  of  this  process. 

f  Sir  William  Hunter's    "  The  Indian  Empire,"  pp.  115-I18. 


48  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

remedies  as  cold  or  hot,  without  any  perceptible  scientific  basis  for  such 
a  distinction  ;  and  their  practice  rises  little  above  that  of  hap-hazard 
applications.  A  more  rational  method  of  medical  and  surgical  treat- 
ment reached  India  through  the  advent  of  Europeans.  Now  every 
regiment  has  its  surgeons  and  every  civil  station  its  doctors — all  of  the 
regular  school — who  have  received  their  education  in  Great  Britain  ; 
and  medical  institutions  have  been  established  in  India  itself  for  the 
training  of  natives  in  every  branch  of  this  useful  art.  Generally 
natives  prefer  this  ^/zgr^z/ (English)  method  when  they  can  avail  them- 
selves of  it,  especially  if  the  doctor  is  a  European  or  an  American.  But 
sometimes  this  is  not  the  case.  A  physician  attached  to  the  court  of 
the  Maharaja  of  Kashmir  told  the  writer  that  he  was  required  to  use  all 
three  systems:  the  Hindu  in  treating  the  ladies  of  the  King's  Zenana, 
who  were  very  bigoted  Hindus;  the  Greek  in  administering  to  the 
Maharaja  himself ;  and  the  English  in  prescribing  for  the  Maharaja's 
brother,  who  is  a  man  of  greater  intellect  and  more  enlightened  views. 
Missionaries  labor  under  the  disadvantage  of  being  foreigners,  born 
and  brought  up  in  a  more  temperate  zone,  and  (other  tilings 
being  equal)  suffer  more  than  natives  from  the  bad  sanitary  conditions 
of  the  country.  But  the  mortality  among  foreigners  is  after  all  less 
than  among  the  same  number  of  natives* — simply  for  the  reason  that 
they  can  provide  better  for  themselves  and  their  families  than  the  ma- 
jority of  natives  and  can  get  better  medical  treatment.  Their  good 
clothing,  comfortable  houses,  excellent  food  and  drink,  careful  habits, 
judicious  nursing  and  prompt  use  of  the  best  medical  remedies,  under 
the  advice  of  well-educated  doctors,  secure  them  either  immunity  al- 
together from  prevalent  diseases,  or  the  most  rapid  recovery  possible. 
It  is  their  practice,  moreover,  to  seek  every  summer  freedom  from  bad 
sanitary  surroundings,  reinvigoration  of  body,  and  complete  recovery 
from  many  ailments,  in  a  sojourn  at  health  resorts  on  the  hills. 
Mothers  with  their  young  children,  who  suffer  most  from  the  climate, 
spend  three  or  four  months  at  some  such  mountain  retreat  during  the 
worst  season  of  the  year,  while  unmarried  ladies  and  gentlemen  also 
get  a  briefer  yearly  vacation  of  rest  in  a  similar  way.  Of  course  I  am 
speaking  here  of  ordinary  missionaries.      Some  with  mistaken  ideas  of 

*  Only  8  deaths  have  occurred  abroad  in  our  missionary  circle  during  the  past  15 
years — 4  adults  (all  married  ladies)  and  4  children.  This  does  not  include  one  male 
missionary  and  one  child  who  died  in  America.  Our  missionary  band  during  these  15 
years  has  comprised  altogether  16  men,  45  women  and  35  children. 


~i.L    IlllHlinHl^ullllilIll    'II  [ilLlllillllni  I minn 


'^^  SI     ,         1    ,. 


^^'■K    -i.'    'i^' 


-  \       „<f*      If       •'l^  ^?*.*         ^ 


V49) 


50  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

higher  consecration  shorten  their  lives,  and  exhibit  a  greater  mortality 
than  even  natives,  by  their  ascetic  practices. 

The  health  resorts  to  whicli  we  go  are  usually  on  some  spur  of  the 
Himalayas  from  5000  to  8000  feet  above  sea-level.  Those  for  the 
north  are  scattered  all  along  the  border  in  that  direction  from  Abbota- 
bad  to  Darjiling,  Simla,  the  summer  capital  of  the  Empire,  being  the 
largest,  richest  and  most  celebrated.  At  these  places,  the  families  of 
European  officers  live  during  six  months  of  the  year;  and  here  the 
officers  themselves  often  spend  their  vacations.  Every  house  (accord- 
ing to  English  style)  has  its  own  name  and  is  generally  at  some  distance 
from  its  neighbors — located  wherever  a  favorable  spot  can  be  found ; 
while  good  roads  wind  back  and  forth  in  irregular  parallels  around  the 
hills  and  through  the  valleys  of  the  place,  bringing  the  houses  within 
easy  reach  of  one  another  and  giving  ready  access  also  to  the  church, 
the  assembly  room,  the  bazars,  the  post  office,  and  the  other  public 
buildings  which  are  found  in  every  station. 

Dharmsala  is  the  sanitarium  which  has  been  used  most  by  our  own 
mission.  It  is  located  on  the  northern  side  of  the  Kangra  Valley,  fifty- 
three  miles  from  Pathankot,  our  nearest  principal  mission  station.  Two 
mountain  spurs,  forming  a  V,  or  a  U,  with  the  apex  at  the  base  of  Dharm- 
kot,  which  rises  a  thousand  feet  higher,  shoot  out  in  irregularly 
descending  stages  till  they  reach  the  plateau  below.  On  these  the 
principal  part  of  the  station  is  built.  Here  are  fifty  or  sixty  dwelling 
houses  for  foreigners,  two  bazars,  barracks  for  a  hundred  white  sol- 
diers, and  lines  for  a  battalion  or  two  of  Gurkhas.  Here  a  Commis- 
sioner, a  Deputy  Commissioner,  and  other  officers  have  their  head- 
quarters in  the  summer.  Here  also  we  have  five  houses  :  two,  named 
Sunny  Side  and  Shady  Side,  facing  eastward  on  the  western  spur  of  the 
station,  about  6000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea ;  and  four,  called 
Rookwood,  Carleton  Cottage,  Eagle's  Nest  and  Aerie,  1500  feet  higher 
up,  on  Dharmkot.  The  first  two  have  been  long  in  the  hands  of  the 
Mission.  The  last  are  on  property  which  was  purchased  by  us  in  the 
spring  of  1883.  Masadi,  a  typical  farmer-shepherd  and  the  head  of  a 
Gaddi  village,  has  had  local  charge  of  this  property  for  twenty  or 
twenty-five  years. 

Hardly  any  hill  retreat  can  boast  of  grander  scenery  in  its  immediate 
neighborhood  than  Dharmsala.  Viewed  from  our  lower  houses,  or  the 
road  to  the  Gurkha  lines,  or  from  the  European  barracks,  a  splendid 
picture  presents  itself  to  a  beholder. 


VIEW  FROM  SUNNY  SIDE  51 

On  the  right,  2500  feet  below,  spreads  out  Kangra  Valley,  renowned 
for  its  rice  fields  and  tea  plantations ;  and  beyond  it,  more  than 
twenty  miles  away,  the  lower  plateau  of  hills  (called  the  Siwalik  Range) 
with  their  wavy,  choppy  sea  of  peaks,  and  beyond  that  again,  the 
white  sandy  fringe  where  the  Beas  river  has  its  bed ;  and  beyond  that 
still,  the  distant  plains  which  at  their  farthest  limit  can  be  hardly 
distinguished  from  the  sky  with  which  they  seem  to  blend. 

Right  at  our  feet  we  look  down  into  a  deep,  wood-skirted  valley; 
and  beyond,  at  about  our  own  level,  we  behold  the  eastern  mountain 
spur  upon  which  most  of  the  station  is  built.  There  a  bazar 
(McLeod  Ganj,  it  is  called)  and  English  residences  peep  out  prettily 
through  their  rural  surroundings,  while  the  hill  itself  advances  upward 
in  stages  from  the  court-house  below  to  the  foot  of  Dharmkot  above. 
Beyond  this  spur  again,  but  trending  to  the  right,  rise  in  succession 
higher  spurs,  called  Tarun,  Titarna  and  Gandaru,  whose  grass-covered 
sides  exhibit  a  beautiful  green,  and  whose  massive,  rounding  tops  seem 
like  the  backs  of  gigantic,  crouching  elephants. 

On  the  extreme  left,  towering  1500  feet  above  us,  is  seen  Dharmkot, 
with  its  well  wooded  front  and  top,  through  whose  verdant  foliage  the 
white  of  an  occasional  house  makes  its  appearance.  On  its  right,  and 
2500  feet  higher  still,  stands  the  rounded  top  of  Kunal  Patthar,  be- 
tween which  and  Tarun  a  deep  valley  and  a  dark  forest  are  visible. 
And  beyond  all  these  spurs  again,  skirting  the  whole  background  at 
the  distance  of  ten  or  fifteen  miles,  but  seemingly  nearer,  appears  the 
gray  granite  of  the  main  ridge,  whose  jagged  peaks — Balain,  Bag, 
Andrar,  Asral,  Toral  and  Talang — rise  each  to  the  height  of  16,000  or 
18,000  feet  above  sea-level,  and  whose  more  depressed  and  less  exposed 
parts  exhibit  patches  of  perpetual  snow. 

Seen  at  different  seasons — in  sunshine  or  shadow,  when  the  clouds 
are  rising  or  the  sun  is  setting,  when  snow  is  falling  on  the  highest 
points  or  a  storm  rages  below,  when  a  full  moon  casts  its  pale  light 
upon  the  foreground  or  a  rainbow  spans  the  abyss  at  our  feet — these 
various  objects,  combined  together  as  the  God  of  nature  has  placed 
them,  present  a  panorama  of  diversified  beauty  and  grandeur  which 
(once  seen)  can  never  be  effaced  from  the  memory.  And  then  every 
other  standpoint  has  its  own  special  picture  to  present  and  its  own 
peculiar  tale  to  tell — each  of  which  has  distinctive  attractions. 

More  minutely  considered,  too,  Dharmsala  has  minor  beauties.  Its 
great   tree   rhododendrons  which    bloom   in   April,    its  multitudinous 


52 


LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 


ferns  (rooted  in  the  bark  of  trees  and,  during  the  rains,  fringing  them 
to  the  height  of  forty  feet),  its  graceful  deodars  (akin  to  the  cedars  of 
Lebanon),  its  i)retty  churchyard  and  cemetery,*  its  little  lake,  its 
neighboring  waterfall,  its  canals  for  irrigation,  its  troops  of  monkeys, 

its  far-renowned  fountain  and 
'—    shrine  called  Bhagsu,  its  pretty 

walks  and  bridle-roads 


all  add 

to  the  pleasure  of  a  residence 
there.  What  an  opportunity 
there  is  also  during  fair  weather 
for  little  excursions  in  various 
directions  and  extemporized 
picnics  !  And  how  pleasant  and 
even  romantic  it  is  to  camp  out 
for  a  day  or  two  at  Laka,  just  at 
the  foot  of  the  highest  range, 
and,  as  a  part  of  our  experience 
there,  make  a  trip  to  the  pass 
near  it,  14,000  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  sea! 

Next    to  Dliarmsala,    Murree 
It  lies  farther  north  and  west 


A    MOUNTAIN    FAMILY. 


was  our  most  frequented  hill  station 
— only  thirty-nine  miles  from  Rawal  Pindi — and  its  average  elevation 
is  1000  feet  higher  than  that  of  Dharmsala.  It  also  contains  three 
times  as  many  residences  and  a  much  greater  variety  of  shops,  and 
other  conveniences. 

Dalhousie,  too,  was  occasionally  patronized  by  our  missionaries. 
It  is  located  about  as  near  to  Pathankot  as  Dharmsala  is  ;  and,  although 
its  scenery  is  not  so  grand  as  that  of  Dharmsala,  its  approaches  are 
lovelier,  and  the  beautiful  lake  of  Khajiar,  and  Chamba  beyond, 
furnish  delightful  termini  for  brief  excursions  ;  while  the  mountains 
and  valleys  still  farther  back  give  unlimited  scope  for  pedestrian  tours. 

Mussoorie  and  Landour  also  (Siamese  twins),  though  farther  away 
from  our  field,  have  in  recent  years  provided  a  summer  retreat  for  some 

*Said  to  be  the  prettiest  in  all  India — a  beautiful  resting-place  for  Mrs.  Anderson 
and  two  of  Dr.  Barr's  children.  Here  lies  one  of  India's  Viceroys — Lord  Elgin, 
father  of  the  present  Viceroy,  who  died  at  Dharmsala  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties 
on  the  20th  of  November,  1863.  His  monument  is  of  graceful  gothic  architecture, 
fifteen  or  twenty  feet  high. 


MUSSOORIE  AND    THE    VALE    OF  KASHMIR  53 

of  our  people — chiefly  on  account  of  their  schools.  Woodstock 
(for  girls)  is  the  best  school  of  its  class  in  all  India.  From  this  station 
grand  views  may  be  had  of  the  Dehra  Dun  Valley  and  the  Himalayan 
snow-field.  On  the  horizon  of  the  latter,  seventy-five  or  one  hundred 
miles  away,  can  be  seen  some  of  the  loftiest  peaks  in  the  world. 

Occasionally  our  missionaries  prefer  spending  their  vacation  in 
taking  a  tour  through  some  elevated  picturesque  region.  Several 
young  ladies  have  made  the  journey  through  Simla  and  Kulu  to 
Dharmsala,  spending  a  it^  days  on  their  way  with  the  Rev.  M.  M. 
Carleton  and  his  wife  at  Kotgarh.  But  more  have  gone  to  the  cele- 
brated Vale  of  Kashmir,  which  lies  (surrounded  by  mountains)  5000 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea  and  presents  a  striking  combination  of 
attractive  scenery  and  delightful  experience. 

Nothing  in  the  world,  perhaps,  is  more  pleasing  to  a  lover  of 
nature,  or  a  seeker  of  rest,  than  a  visit  to  this  valley.  The  picturesque 
scenery  on  the  road  thither,  the  girdle  of  snow-covered  peaks,  presided 
over  by  Nanga  Parbat,  27,000  feet  high;  Mount  Haramuk  and  the 
oval-shaped  vale  below,  through  which  winds  leisurely,  in  many  a 
fold,  the  river  Jhelum  ;  the  different  lakes,  intersecting  canals,  plateaus 
and  mountain  meadows  ;  Srinagar,  with  its  curious  bridges,  buildings 
and  people — an  Asiatic  Venice,  whose  houses  (roofed  with  earth  and 
flowers)  appear  "like  one  vast  and  variegated  parterre;"  the  chinar 
groves  and  artificial  gardens ;  the  thousand  and  one  Oriental  ob- 
jects which  meet  the  eye;  the  boat  life — so  quiet,  convenient  and 
restful ; 

"And  the  sounds  from  the  lake, — the  low  whisp'ring  in  boats, 
As  they  shoot  through  the  moonlight; — the  dipping  of  oars, 

And  the  wild,  airy  warbling  that  everywhere  floats 

Through  the  groves,  round  the  islands,  as  if  all  the  shores 

Like  those  of  Kathay  utter'd  music,  and  gave 

An  answer  in  song  to  the  kiss  of  each  wave," 

— all  have  a  singularly  touching  effect  upon  the  traveler's  heart  and 
give  the  region  immortal  renown. 

"  Who  has  not  heard  of  the  Vale  of  Kashmir 

With  its  roses  the  brightest  that  earth  ever  gave, 
Its  temples,  and  grottoes,  and  fountains  as  clear 
As  the  love-lighted  eyes  that  hang  over  the  wave  ?  " 


54 


LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 


All  these  health  resorts  and  touring  regions,  however,  have  their 
drawbacks.  Dharmsala  is  too  wet  (especially  for  rheumatic  patier\ts), 
furnishes  a  poor  market,  was  twice  visited  by  cholera  (last  in  1890) 
and  until  lately  has  been  difficult  of  access.*  The  bridge  over  the 
Chakki  was  not  ready  for  travel  until  June  15,  1890,  and  neither  the 
doli  (palanquin)  nor  the  tonga  service  between  it  and  Pathankot  has 
been  satisfactory.  Dalhousie  is  built  too  much  on  the  hillsides  and  its 
houses  are  too  close  to  one  another.  Mussoorie  is  too  far  away  from 
our  field,  as  also  perhaps  is  the  Vale  of  Kashmir.  Murree  has  been 
scourged  too  often  by  cholera  (very  severely  in  1888)  and  has  a  poor 
water  supply. f  Simla  is  too  fashionable  and  too  expensive  a 
place  for  missionaries  to  live  in ;  and  the  trip  through  Kulu 
is  rather  wearisome.  Of  all  elevated  regions,  moreover,  it  may  be 
said  that  they  are  not  good  for  heart  troubles  and  that  they  have  their 
own  peculiar  diseases. 

Nor  is  it  possible  in  any  of  these  stations  to  counteract  altogether 
the  debilitating  effects  of  the  climate  on  the  plains.  The  thermometer 
at  Dharmsala,  even  as  high  up  as  Dharmkot,  sometimes  rises  above  80°, 
and  the  continuous  rains  which  visit  it  every  season  are  very  depressing. 
Occasional  visits  to  the  home  land  are  absolutely  necessary  to  sup- 
plement all  the  preventives  and  remedies  which  missionaries  are  able 
to  adopt  in  their  field  of  labor,  if  they  wish  to  maintain  their  strength 
in  a  normal  condition  and  be  capable  of  lengthened  service.  Es- 
pecially is  this  the  case  with  ladies;  while  as  for  children,  they  must 
be  taken  home  and  left  there,  to  get  a  good  constitution,  if  for  no 
other  reason. 

*  The  average  expense  of  each  adult  in  a  family,  while  going  to  or  from  Dharm- 
sala, is  about  eleven  dollars;  to  or  from  Murree,  six  dollars  and  a  half.  The 
whole  expense  of  my  ten  days'  trip  to  Kashmir  (including  a  journey  of  350  miles) 
was  forty-three  dollars. 

-}■  Cholera  also  sometimes  visits  Kashmir,  and  when  it  broke  out  at  Srinagar  in  the 
latter  part  of  May,  1892,  1731  cases,  v/ith  990  deaths,  were  reported  in  four  days. 


ON   A    LAKIC    IN    KASHMIR. 


CHAPTER  VI 


DOMESTIC  AND  SOCIAL  CONDITIONS 

Houses — Furniture — Clothing — Food — Punkhas — Vermin — Servants — Separation  of 
Families — Homes  for  Children  —  Salaries  —  Recreations  —  Intercourse  with 
Anglo-Indians — With  Travelers — With  Natives. 

HAT  about  your  domestic  and  social  life  ?     How  are  you 
housed  ?     What  comforts  have  you  ?     How  do  you  dress  ? 
What   kind   of   food  do  you  eat?      How  do    the  natives 
live  ?     Such  questions  are  often  asked  a  returned  mission- 
ary, and  ought  to  be  answered. 

An  India  missionary's  dwelling  is  usually  located,  not  in  the  heart 
of  towns  or  cities,  but  in  the  open  country — partly  because  land  is 
dearer  in  closely  populated  places,  and  partly  because  it  is  more  com- 
fortable and  healthful  to  live  where  there  is  a  freer  circulation  of  air. 

Our  houses  on  the  plains  are  built  chiefly  with  the  design  of  keeping 
out  heat.  Hence  they  have  very  heavy  brick  walls — generally  one  and 
one  half  or  two  feet  thick — and  are  covered  with  massive  flat  roofs, 
composed  of  brick,  mortar  and  earth,  supported  by  a  wooden  frame- 
work thrown  horizontally  from  wall  to  wall.  The  floors  also  are 
earthen,  covered  with  concrete  and  hard  plaster,  or  brick.  The  main 
rooms,  forming  a  compact  centre,  are  surrounded  by  smaller  rooms  and 

(55) 


56  LIFE  AND    WORK'  IN  INDIA 

verandas,  partly  for  use  and  partly  to  keep  the  heat  from  striking  the 
interior  walls.  Our  houses  have  also  lofty  ceilings  (from  twelve  to 
twenty  feet  high),  so  as  to  give  plenty  of  air  during  that  part  of  the 
day  when  the  windows  and  doors  need  to  be  tightly  closed.  Light  is 
admitted  through  small  windows  near  the  ceiling  which  are  worked  by 
cords,  and  through  glass  doors,  which  thus  serve  a  double  purpose. 
There  are  no  cellars  or  second  stories  usually.  Our  Zafarwal  house  is 
the  only  double-storied  one  on  the  plains  in  our  Mission  ;  while  Sunny 
Side  and  Shady  Side  are  the  only  ones  on  the  hills.  The  kitchen  is 
not  in  the  dwelling  proper,  but  stands  near  by  ;  while  servants  have 
their  own  little  houses  in  a  convenient  locality. 

The  furniture  of  our  homes  is  often  quite  scanty,  and  generally 
second-hand.  Country-made  cotton  carpets  (called  daries),  charpais 
(native  bedsteads),  chests  of  drawers  in  two  sections,  chairs  of  different 
sorts,  tables  (dining,  centre  and  study),  sideboards,  presses  for  cloth- 
ing and  books,  a  few  rugs,  and  some  pictures  or  other  ornaments  on  the 
walls,  comprise  the  bulk  of  our  household  goods.  English  people  in 
India  generally  try  to  make  one  room  look  attractive,  but  care  little  for 
the  rest — they  have  to  move  so  often. 

No  effort  is  made  by  missionaries  to  keep  up  with  a  fashionable  world 
in  the  style  of  their  garments.  Only  in  great  cities,  large  cantonments 
and  popular  hill  stations,  can  tailors,  dressmakers  and  milliners  be 
found  who  make  any  pretension  to  advanced  work  in  their  different 
lines.  And,  as  their  charges  are  high  and  our  need  of  fine  clothing  is 
not  great,  we  do  not  often  patronize  them.  Native  tailors  {dai-zies), 
however,  can  be  hired  in  many  places  at  low  wages,  who  are  good  imita- 
tors, and,  with  the  aid  of  other  garments  or  published  patterns  as  guides, 
can,  under  the  eye  of  a  skillful  mistress,  produce  articles  of  male  and 
female  attire  which  answer  very  well  under  all  ordinary  circumstances; 
while  bonnets,  when  they  look  too  wretched,  can  be  renewed  or  touched 
up  by  the  ladies  themselves  in  some  sort  of  style.  But  many  articles 
are  often  worn  peculiar  to  the  country — such  as  white  or  khaki  (dust- 
colored)  suits,  pith  or  soft  felt  hats,  cork  helmets,  shaggy,  woolen 
pattu  cloaks  or  overcoats;  while  in  rain  or  sun,  a  double-covered 
white-topped  umbrella  is  almost  indispensable.  Hence  garments  taken 
to  that  country  give  place  a  great  deal  to  others  and,  if  they  can  be  kept 
from  vermin,  frequently  last  for  years.  A  gentleman's  black  suit  and  a 
lady's  silk  dress  have  been  known  to  do  duty  on  state  occasions  from 
the  time  of  their  owners'  arrival  in  the  country  until  their  departure  on 


FOOD  AND   MEALS  57 

furlough.  Hence,  too,  a  group  of  missionaries  generally  presents  a 
motley,  and,  to  an  unfamiliar  eye,  a  somewhat  amusing  aspect.  Cloth- 
ing of  different  eras,  dating  from  the  time  when  their  respective  wearers 
left  home,  mingled  with  local  fashions  or  individual  whims,  combine 
to  give  them  a  nondescript  appearance.  This  is  one  reason  why  old 
missionaries  shrink  from  durbars,  levees,  dinners  and  calls  on  the  more 
fashionable  English,  and  why  they  are  disposed  to  push  out  new-comers 
as  their  representatives  when  duty  requires  some  attention  to  the  de- 
mands of  society. 

Of  food  we  can  usually  get  a  variety  either  from  the  bazar  or  from 
our  own  garden  ;  for  missionaries  try  to  keep  up  a  garden,  even  if  it  is 
somewhat  expensive.  Mutton  is  our  staple  and  best  meat ;  although 
beef,  fowl  and  fish  are  sometimes  placed  on  our  tables.  Of  vegetables — 
we  have  potatoes,  common  and  sweet,  cabbage,  tomatoes,  cauliflower, 
onions,  lettuce,  egg-plant,  celery,  beans,  peas,  turnips,  radishes  and 
bindis  (okra)  in  their  season  ;  and  of  fruits — oranges,  pomelos  (shad- 
dock, grape  fruit),  bananas,  peaches,  apricots,  mangoes,  plums,  pears, 
guavas,  grapes,  limes,  loquats,  melons,  and  occasionally,  perhaps,  a 
taste  of  strawberries.  Canned  fruits,  jams,  biscuits  (crackers)  and  fisli, 
bottled  prunes,  vinegar  and  condiments  of  e<'ery  kind — brought  all  the 
way  from  England  or  America — can  be  had  by  paying  the  prices  asked 
for  them.  Sugars  are  made  in  the  country  ;  rice  and  tea  grow  in 
Kangra  Valley  ;  rock-salt  is  brought  from  the  Salt  Range  of  the  Jhelum 
District ;  while  several  kinds  of  dal  (pulse)  and  other  cereals  are  an- 
nually cultivated  by  all  the  farmers.  Bread  (often  not  good)  we  gener- 
ally get  from  a  baker,  and  butter  from  the  bazar  ;  but  many  missionaries 
have  their  own  cows,  and  can  thus  provide  plenty  of  milk  for  young  and 
old — and  may  be  butter  also  ;  while  the  water  drawn  from  our  deep 
wells  is  of  the  very  best  quality,  and,  either  with  or  without  lime  juice, 
furnishes  a  very  necessary  and  refreshing  drink. 

We  have  two  standard  meals :  breakfast  between  ten  and  twelve  in 
the  forenoon  and  dinner  from  four  to  seven  in  the  evening  ;  but,  as  it 
is  not  wise  to  go  out  and  do  our  morning  work  on  an  empty  stomach, 
we  usually  take  a  little  tea,  toast,  and  perhaps  an  egg,  immediately 
after  rising.  This  is  called  little  breakfast.  About  one  or  two  p.  m. 
we  have  a  cup  of  tea;  and  the  same  with  a  biscuit  an  hour  or  two  after 
dinner — perhaps  outside  of  the  house  under  a  tree.  Morning  worship 
comes  just  before  or  after  breakfast — often  in  Hindustani  with  the  ser- 
vants; evening  worship,  as  at  home. 


58  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

In  serving  meals  the  style  set  by  English  people  in  that  country  is 
somewhat  followed  by  missionaries.  Several  courses  are  given. 
Breakfast  begins  with  porridge  of  some  kind  and  dinner  with  soup. 
The  latter  ends  with  dessert  which  is  usually  pudding.  Pies  are  gen- 
erally discarded  ;  so  is  ice  water,  even  in  hot  weather,  and  of  course 
wine,  or  strong  drink  of  any  kind,  which  forms  such  an  essential  part 
of  the  Anglo-Indian's  diet.  Of  native  dishes  we  often  have  curry  and 
rice.  Kichari  (a  preparation  of  rice  and  dal  with  spices,  fried  onions 
and  boiled  eggs,  chopped  fine),  pilau  (which  consists  of  rice  boiled 
with  ghi,  fat,  and  either  meat  or  some  vegetable),  and,  for  very  young 
children,  paspas  (a  combination  of  rice  and  chicken  cooked  together). 
Hot  water  plates  are  also  sometimes  used  to  keep  our  food  warm. 

In  the  summer  punkhas  are  kept  going  day  and  night,  mornings  and 
evenings  excepted ;  while  daily  baths  are  common.  In  the  winter  (from 
the  beginning  of  October  to  the  end  of  February)  we  have  more  or 
less  fire  in  our  dining  and  sitting-rooms  and  in  the  study — even  though, 
during  the  middle  of  the  day  when  we  go  out,  pith  hats  and  umbrellas 
may  be  required  to  protect  us  from  the  rays  of  the  sun. 

Much  discomfort  in  housekeeping  arises  from  leaking  roofs,  dust, 
ants,  rats,  mice,  lizards,  neolas,  gnats,  mosquitoes,  wasps,  crickets, 
fish-moths,  sparrows  and  other  nuisances.  Rugs  and  loose  articles 
must  be  shaken  every  day ;  carpets  once  a  week.  When  big  rains 
come  carpets  must  often  be  lifted,  furniture  moved  and  vessels  set  here 
and  there  to  catch  the  dripping  water.  Birds  find  our  rooms  cooler 
than  the  outside  air,  and  often  make  their  nests  in  some  part  of  our 
unplastered  ceilings  ;  rats  and  mice  have  their  fun  racing  back  and 
forth  through  our  bedrooms  at  night,  sometimes  gnaw  our  clothing  or 
books  and,  when  they  can,  steal  our  food.  Neolas  (weasels)  glide  in 
and  out  of  our  houses  through  any  opening  which  they  may  find,  jump 
on  our  tables  or  sideboards,  upset  our  milk  jugs  and  dive  their  noses 
into  our  butter.  Gnats,  sand  flies  and  mosquitoes  do  their  best  to 
make  a  living  off  us  when  we  are  asleep  and,  except  when  punkhas  are 
going,  must  be  warded  off  by  nets.  Lizards  glide  continually  over  our 
walls  and  ceilings  and  often  drop  down  on  our  tables,  beds  or  floors. 
Fish-moths  get  behind  our  pictures  and,  when  they  find  an  opportunity, 
fringe  the  edges  of  our  photos  and  engravings.  Common  moths  infest 
our  wardrobes  and  destroy  our  woolen  garments.  Crickets  roughen 
and  deform  the  backs  of  our  books  and  the  smooth  surface  of  our 
shoes.     Locusts   once   in    a   while    devour   our    gardens   and    defile 


SER  VANTS 


59 


our  wells.*  Ants  invade  our  sideboards  and  swarm  over  our  carpets. 
Meat,  and  other  edibles  must  be  kept  in  dolies  (movable  cupboards, 
with  feet  and  perforated  sides),  which  are  either  hung  up  by  a  rope  or 
set  in  vessels  filled  with  water — to  keep  out  small  vermin.  White 
ants  unexpectedly  rise  through  some  unobserved  opening  in  the  floor 
and,  before  we  are  aware,  eat  holes  in  our  carpets  and  rugs,  destroy 
many  dollars'  worth  of  books,  and  reduce  to  shreds  the  contents  of  a  trunk. 
They  have  no  more  respect  for  broadcloth  or  silk  than  for  the  coarsest 
cotton.  Book  covers  furnish  them  a  toothsome  repast.  Theology  and  met- 
aphysics give  them  no  difficulty  whatever,  and  even  Greek,  Arabic 
and  Hebrew  roots  are  devoured  as  stubble.  Metal,  glass,  queens- 
ware  and  the  harder  parts  of 
some  kinds  of  wood  are  about 
the  only  things  that  defy  their 
ravages.  Trunks  must  be  placed 
on  skeleton  benches,  called  tea- 
poys, and  daily — if  not  hourly 
— inspection  must  be  kept  up 
to  detect  their  approach  and 
circumvent  their  movements. 

But  perhaps  more  annoyance 
comes  from  the  ways  of  ser- 
vants than  from  anything  else 
connected  with  housekeeping  : 
they  practice  so  much  deceit 
and  pilfering.  Not  only  money, 
but  provisions,  wood  and  small 
articles  of  value  must  be  kept  under  lock  and  key.  The  bunches 
of  keys  carried  around  by  us  would  be  objects  of  wonder  to  people  at 
home.  Sugar,  rice,  potatoes — everything  required  in  cookery — must 
be  doled  out  just  as  it  is  needed  and,  after  that  even,  a  close  watch  ob- 
served. When  servants  buy  anything  for  us  we  must  demand  of  them 
a  strict  account,  if  we  desire  to  see  that  in  weight,  measure  or  price 
they  do  not  get  the  advantage  of  us.  But,  in  spite  of  all  our  efforts, 
no  doubt  we  lose,  and  they  gain,  twenty  or  twenty-five  per  cent,  of 
everything  which  passes  through  their  hands. 

Why  then  keep  so  many  servants  ?     Would  it  not  be  cheaper  and 
more  satisfactory,  and  every  way  better  for  us  to  do  our  own  work,  or 
*  As  was  the  case  in  the  summer  of  1S91. 


HILLS    OK    WiiriE    ANTS. 


60  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

at  least  try  to  get  along  with  fewer  servants  ?  No  ;  it  would  not,  even 
if  the  task  were  possible,  nor  would  it  be  fairly  treating  that  cause  for 
which  we  are  laboring  in  India.  An  entire  reconstruction  of  methods 
and  conveniences  would  be  required  to  do  without  servants,  and  that, 
too,  at  considerable  cost ;  and,  should  missionaries  attempt  this  mode 
of  managing  their  household  affairs  in  that  country,  they  would  at  any 
rate  soon  be  laid  aside  from  disease  and  sink  under  the  burden — 
to  say  nothing  of  the  great  diminution  of  that  strength  and  leisure 
which,  under  present  conditions,  can  be  expended  in  mission  labor. 
Besides,  a  loss  of  prestige  and  influence  among  the  natives  would  in- 
evitably follow  such  a  course.  Orientals  think  meanly  of  a  sahib  who 
does  not  keep  servants ;  and  they  even  feel  that  he  is  doing  the  poor  a 
great  wrong  by  not  furnishing  them  employment  and  thus  helping 
them  to  make  a  living.  A  kind  and  generous  spirit,  moreover,  helps 
to  commend  the  religion  of  him  who  exhibits  it  and  to  show  that  its 
essence  is  love. 

Nor  is  it  possible  for  one  or  even  two  servants  to  do  all  the  work 
which  is  now  distributed  among  several.  To  such  an  arrangement  the 
caste  system  presents  an  insuperable  obstacle.  The  cook  will  not  take 
care  of  the  horse  or  the  cow ;  the  gardener  will  not  carry  water  for  the 
kitchen  ;  nor  will  any  servant  but  a  mihtar  sweep  the  floors  or  attend 
to  the  bath-room.  Besides,  the  cost  of  service  would  not  be  lessened 
much  anyhow  by  such  an  arrangement.  One  man  then  would  want 
the  same  wages  that  all  get  now. 

Taken  at  the  worst,  however — including  both  wages  and  stealing- 
it  may  be  safely  affirmed  that  our  household  service  costs  us  little,  if 
any,  more  than  one  good  servant  in  an  American  city.  We  are  truly 
thankful  that  at  such  a  trifling  expense  the  missionary  can  be  relieved 
of  many  worldly  cares  and  set  free  for  higher  and  nobler,  if  not  more 
necessary,  work. . 

Speaking  of  domestic  trials,  we  should  remark  here  that  the  greatest 
cross,  by  far,  which  a  Christian  foreign  missionary  is  called  upon  to 
bear  in  India,  is  separation  from  other  members  of  his  family  and 
especially  his  separation  from  children  when  it  is  necessary  for  the 
latter  to  be  taken  home  and  left  there.  Almost  every  married  man 
experiences  something  of  this  trial  during  the  itinerating  season, 
although  as  a  general  thing  his  household  accompanies  him  on  his 
preaching  tours.  In  the  summers,  too,  his  wife  and  children  must  go 
to  the  hills  before  he  does,  producing  a  separation  of  two  or  three 


SEPARATION   OF  FAMILIES 


61 


months  out  of  every  twelve.  And  then,  when  the  little  ones  reach  the 
age  of  eight  or  ten  years,  considerations  of  health,  morals,  education, 
spiritual  profit  and  future  prospect,  demand  that  they  permanently 
leave  that  country  and  make  their  home  in  a  better  land.  This 
usually  leads  to  their  separation  from  father  and  mother  for  several 
years  at  the  most  critical  period  of  their  lives.  A  good  Providence 
watches  over  them,  it  is  true  ;  and  missionaries'  children,  as  a  general 
thing,  fare  as  well  and  become  as  useful  as  those  of  any  other  class  of 
Christians.  But  the  trial,  nevertheless,  is  a  sore  one  to  both  old 
and  young ;  nor  can  words  well  portray  the  anxiety  which  it  produces 
or  the  tears  which  it  occasions. 


CENTIPEDE   {about  life-size). 

Some  churches  are  providing  American  Homes  for  the  children  of 
foreign  missionaries  who  remain  in  the  field,  with  the  design  of  fur- 
nishing these  little  ones  all  the  comforts  and  advantages  of  a  Christian 
family  at  a  figure  within  the  ability  of  the  parents  to  pay.  Such 
homes  are  usually  established  where  there  are  good  church  and  school 
privileges  and,  wlien  properly  conducted,  are  no  doubt  of  great 
benefit  to  all  concerned.  But  the  separation  of  brothers  and  sisters, 
as  they  grow  older,  and  their  accommodation  under  different  roofs, 
though  perhaps  necessary,  adds  one  more  to  the  long  list  of  such 
experiences  and,  if  possible,  should  be  avoided.  Whatever  its  draw- 
backs, however,  an  arrangement  like  this  is  undoubtedly  far  better 
than  any  which  requires  the  children   to  return  to  India. 

The  matter  of  salary  is  about  the  last  thing  considered  by  a  foreign 


62  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

missionary  in  going  out  to  his  field  of  labor  for  the  first  time — if 
thought  of  at  all ;  but,  as  many  persons  ask  him  about  it  and  wish  to 
know  whether  or  not  he  fares  as  well  as  others  or  is  provided  with  a 
comfortable  living,  it  may  be  well  here  to  make  a  it\s  remarks  in 
reference  to  the  subject. 

The  salary  given  one  of  our  United  Presbyterian  ordained  India 
missionaries — including  allowances  of  every  kind — is  about  equal  to 
the  average  given  by  other  societies  working  in  that  coimtry.  Some — 
for  instance  the  American  Methodists,  and  perhaps  the  Baptists — give 
slightly  less ;  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland  and  the  Wesleyans,  thirty 
per  cent,  more ;  the  Established  Church  of  Scotland,  more  still ;  the 
American  Presbyterian  Church,  about  the  same  as  our  own.  Govern- 
ment chaplains  of  the  junior  grade  receive  about  as  much  as  we  do  ; 
chaplains  of  the  senior  grade,  sixty  per  cent.  more.  Members  of  the 
Covenanted  Civil  Service  get  on  the  average  about  three  times  as 
much  as  we  do;  while  government  servants  of  all  kinds,  ecclesiastical, 
civil,  military,  and  medical,  have,  in  addition  to  their  salaries,  the 
promise  of  pensions  also  after  their  term  of  service  is  completed.  Un- 
married lady  missionaries  receive  an  income  equal,  perhaps,  to  the 
average  given  female  teachers  in  America. 

Many  British  Boards  and  Churches  differ  from  our  own  and  other 
American  bodies,  in  disclaiming  the  right  to  lessen  the  wages  of 
missionaries  while  they  are  actually  filling  out  a  term  of  service  in  the 
field,  following  in  this  particular  the  policy  of  their  civil  government. 
They  also  discriminate  between  doctors  and  ministers,  and  between 
new  and  old  missionaries,  in  regard  to  the  amount  of  their  salary. 
But  no  difference  in  the  pay  of  any  one,  married  or  unmarried,  is 
allowed  by  our  church  on  account  of  ordination,  special  talent,  college 
graduation,  medical  training,  or  experience ;  although  allowances  are 
granted  for  children  under  eighteen  years  of  age  and  to  single  ladies 
who  are  required  to  keep  house  alone.  The  principle  followed  in  all 
these  arrangements  is  that  each  person  should  have  a  decent  living. 

And  this  the  missionaries  have  had — partly,  however,  because  ex- 
change has  been  on  the  constant  decline,  bringing  them  a  greater  and 
greater  number  of  rupees  for  every  dollar  spent  in  India,  while  there 
has  not  been  a  proportionate  increase  there  in  the  cost  of  the  necessa- 
ries of  life. 

But  no  provision  is  made  for  the  aged,  or  the  infirm,  except  to  con- 
tinue them  in  the  field  on  full  salary.     Our  Association  thinks    that  if 


RECREA  TIONS  63 

the  way  for  retirement  on  a  moderate  pension  were  opened  up,  it 
would  be  more  agreeable  to  the  laborer  himself,  more  economical  to 
the  church  and  more  advantageous  to  the  mission  cause.  Of  course, 
like  other  helpless  Christians,  retiring  foreign  laborers  might  obtain 
admission  to  a  Home  for  the  Aged  ;  but  none  of  them  desires  to  be 
compelled  to  do  so,  and  if  left  to  their  own  choice,  as  might  be  the 
case  did  they  have  a  pension,  most  would  probably  prefer  some  other 
place  of  final  rest. 

The  recreations  of  missionaries  are  not  very  numerous,  or  at  least 
they  do  not  take  up  much  of  their  time.  An  evening  ride  in  a  tum- 
tum,  or  phaeton,  a  call  on  one  of  our  associated  brethren  (foreign 
or  native),  a  game  of  lawn  tennis  or  badminton — where  there  are 
young  people — a  little  singing  or  other  music,  an  informal  breakfast  or 
dinner  with  one  of  our  neighbors,  an  occasional  anniversary  of 
some  kind,  an  hour  witnessing  the  sports  of  English  soldiers  or  a  dis- 
play of  native  fireworks,  a  quiet  Fourth  of  July  celebration,  a  visit  to 
the  military  parade-ground  on  grand  occasions,  a  family  picnic  on  the 
hills — these  are  the  chief  variations  from  the  regular  monotony  of  our 
more  serious  life. 

The  daily  mail  is  also  a  source  of  great  pleasure  to  us,  because  it 
brings  us  letters  from  our  associates,  as  well  as  newspapers — perhaps 
even  a  daily  paper,  giving  us  a  glimpse  of  the  world's  doings,  and  es- 
pecially the  events  of  that  Oriental  world  in  which  we  are  living.  But 
more  enjoyable  still  is  the  weekly  arrival  of  the  foreign  mail  bringing 
its  package  of  letters  and  its  budget  of  newspapers  from  'Jiome.  How 
eagerly  mail  day  is  anticipated  !  How  heartily  every  bit  of  news  is 
read  !  How  much  the  whole  is  pondered  over  !  How  happy  we  are 
when  all  the  news  we  get  is  good  news  !  How  depressed  when  word 
comes  of  the  death,  or  serious  illness,  of  friends— perhaps  of  a  dear 
parent  or  a  loving  child  !  How  disappointed,  too,  is  the  unfortunate 
one  who  gets  nothing  at  all  in  the  mail  !  Missionaries  at  least  know 
well  the  meaning  of  these  Scripture  passages  :  "  Hope  deferred  maketh 
the  heart  sick,"  and  "As  cold  waters  to  a  thirsty  soul  so  is  good  news 
from  a  far  country." 

The  only  class  of  foreigners  with  whom  we  have  any  special  inter- 
course in  a  social  way  is  that  of  civil  and  military  officers.  Occasion- 
ally we  exchange  calls  with  some  of  these,  or  are  asked  to  take  a  meal 
at  their  tables.  Now  and  then,  too,  we  may  be  invited  to  their  more 
formal  levees  and  other  entertainments  where,  by  courtesy,  we  ministers 


64  .  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

are  allowed  the  rank  of  chaplains.*  Instances  of  considerable  intimacy 
between  missionaries  and  English  officers  might  also  be  mentioned. 
Some  of  the  latter  are  very  pious,  take  a  deep  interest  in  our  Christian 
work  and  make  us  truly  happy  by  their  kindness,  their  sympathy  and 
their  financial  help.     Association  with  such  is  a  great  pleasure. 

But  for  many  reasons  this  feature  of  our  experience  is  quite  limited. 
It  is  hard  for  persons  to  be  good  missionaries  and  at  the  same  time  to 
meet  the  requirements  of  fashionable  society — impossible,  indeed,  we 
should  say.  Besides,  there  are  not  many  Anglo-Indians  congenial  to 
us.  Few  of  them  are  spiritually  minded  or  take  any  particular  interest 
in  our  missionary  work  ;  and  if  religious  at  all,  their  religion  is  prone 
to  assume,  either  the  narrow  form  of  High  Churchism  and  Ritualism, 
or  the  equally  narrow,  but  antipodal,  form  of  Plymouthism.  Their 
ways  and  tastes  and  manner  of  talking  also  are  different  from  ours. 
Our  American  accent  and  nasal  tones  seem  as  strange  to  tliem  as  their 
British  accent  and  monotonous  pharyngeals  do  to  us.  Occasionally, 
too,  when  advances  are  made,  or  even  calls  returned,  one  meets  witli  a 
cool  reception. f  While  Englishmen  can  be  found  who  exhibit  the 
highest  type  of  gentility,  others  can  be  found  who  are  of  the  very  op- 
posite character,  persons  who  seem  to  measure  the  height  of  their  rank 
by  the  number  and  the  violence  of  their  social  (unsocial)  rebuffs.  Be- 
sides it  appears  hard  for  most  people  who  have  been  trained  in  the 
school  of  a  graded  aristocracy  to  strike  that  golden  mean  between 
fawning  adulation  and  patronizing  condescension,  which  alone  can 
win  the  heart^of  a  true  republican. 

Visits  from  home  friends,  or  travelers,  are  few  and  far  between  in 
our  India  mission  field — it  lies  so  far  to  the  north,  and  is  so  destitute 
of  world-renowned  objects.  The  visit  made  by  Dr.  W.  W.  Barr  and 
the  writer  in  1 880-81  was  the  first  that  occurred  after  the  origin  of 
the  Mission  in  1855.  Since  then  seven  Americans  have  either  gone 
expressly  to  see  it  or  have  included  it  in  their  tours — two  young  ladies 
(Dr.  Adamson,  of  Philadelphia,  and  Miss  Mary  H.  Peirce,  of  Sioux  City, 
Iowa),  in  the  spring  of  1890  ;  Miss  Ida  Gordon,  in  the  winter  of  1S91 
-92;  the  Rev.  John  Gillespie,  D.  D.,  in  December,  1891;  the  Rev. 

*  Anglo-Indian  Society  is  perhaps  the  most  exacting  in  the  world  in  regard  to  the 
rules  of  social  precedence. 

j- In  Anglo-Indian  society  the  stranger  (new-comer)  is  expected  to  call  first;  and 
invitations  to  call  are  never  given  by  either  party — it  being  considered  bad  form  to 
ask  others  thus  to  pay  you  their  respects. 


NATIVE   LIFE 


65 


D.  A.  Murray,  a  Japanese  missionary,  in  1893,  and  two  sisters  of  the 
Rev.  J.  H.  Martin  (Mrs.  E.  M.  Giffen,  of  the  Egyptian  Missfon,  and 
Miss  Dora  Martin),  in  1894-95.  As  might  be  imagined,  such  episodes 
are  interesting  events  to  us.     We  wish  they  v/ere  more  frequent. 


INTERIOR    OF   A    NATIVE    HOUSE — BY   DAY    AND    BY    NIGHT. 
(From  a  Punjabi  drawing.) 

The  style  of  living  exhibited  by  our  native  helpers  and  Christians 
varies  greatly  with  the  amount  of  their  income.      The  larger  part  of 
the  people,  being  poor^  live  in  a  very  primitive  manner.     One  or  two 
5 


66  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

small  rooms  of  a  mud  house,  opening  out  into  the  street  or  into  a  little 
yard,  h^rlf  a  dozen  articles  of  furniture,  a  few  wheat  cakes,  called 
chapaties,  an  occasional  cup  of  milk,  clothing  barely  sufficient  to 
cover  the  body  and  that  washed  very  seldom,  a  hukka  (big  pipe) — 
these  are  about  all  they  possess.  Persons  with  a  little  larger  income 
have  a  veranda  also  in  front  of  their  dwelling,  keep  two  or  more 
changes  of  raiment  and  get  a  greater  variety  of  food.  A  still  higher 
grade  of  people  live  in  roomier  houses,  some  of  which  are  two-storied, 
and  can  separate  the  zenana  more  completely  from  that  part  of 
their  dwelling  which  is  frequented  by  men.  They  also  keep  a 
servant  or  two.  Only  a  few  of  our  people — such  as  the  late  Rev.  E. 
P.  Swift  and  the  Rev.  Thakur  Das — can  adopt  to  any  great  extent 
the  mode  of  living  which  is  exhibited  by  Europeans. 

Among  native  Christians,  men  witli  men,  and  women  with  women, 
have  a  good  deal  of  social  intercourse  in  an  informal  way,  accompanied 
generally  by  the  use  of  the  hukka  ;  but  only  on  some  great  occasion 
(such  as  a  wedding)  do  they  give  dinners  and  bring  together  a  large 
company  of  friends.  Nor  do  tlie  different  sexes,  even  at  these  more 
formal  gatherings,  mingle  together  as  they  do  in  European  society. 

Between  foreign  missionaries  and  their  native  brethren,  whether 
ministerial  or  not,  little  intercourse  of  a  strictly  social  character 
prevails.  This  is  owing  partly  to  the  great  difference  in  their  styles 
of  living.  Neither  party  relishes  much  the  food  used  by  the  other. 
Besides,  such  entertainment  as  the  natives  would  try  to  give  foreigners 
would  involve  them  in  too  much  expense.  The  cost  of  even  biscuit 
and  tea,  or  a  plate  of  sweet  meats,  cuts  deeply  into  their  scanty  wages. 
Lack  of  leisure,  too,  is  an  important  consideration.  But,  after  all,  the 
great  reason  probably  lies  in  that  example  which  has  been  set  us  by 
government  officials.  Caste,  pride  of  race,  different  modes  of 
thinking,  different  grades  of  culture,  different  ideas  of  woman-kind, 
differences  of  religion,  lack  of  tact,  and  other  things,  combine  to 
raise  a  \^all  of  social  separation  between  natives  and  foreigners  even 
when  they  belong  to  the  same  public  service  and  meet  every  day  in 
the  discharge  of  their  ordinary  duties.  Both  parties,  moreover,  seem 
to  be  about  equally  at  fault  in  the  matter. 

Now  this  tone,  feeling,  practice  spreads  until  it  affects  mission 
people  as  well  as  others.  All  are  influenced  by  the  same  great  spell. 
More  than  this :  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  missionaries  and 
the  great  majority  of  the  more  highly  educated   Christians  stand  to 


WHY  ANGLO-INDIANS  AND   NATIVES  DO   NOT  MIX        67 

one  another  in  the  relation  of  employers  and  employees.  This  of 
itself  naturally  causes  them  to  keep  aloof  from  one  another.  They 
cannot  well  meet  on  an  equality.  But,  whatever  the  cause,  the  result 
is  evil  and  ought  to  be  prevented  if  possible.  Better  would  it  be  for 
both  sections  of  the  community  if  they  saw  more  of  each  other,  and 
met  more  frequently  on  the  plane  of  common  Christian  friendship. 
Better  for  the  cause  of  Christ  if  foreigners  and  natives  could  get  into 
closer  touch  with  one  another  and,  with  a  fuller  understanding  of  each 
other's  tastes,  desires  and  aspirations,  push  forward,  side  by  side,  the 
great  work  in  which  they  are  all  engaged.  And  if  any  missionary 
methods  or  habits  stand  in  the  way  of  this  end  they  ought  to  be 
changed. 

Various  explanations  are  given  of  the  cause  of  a  lack  of  closer 
intercourse  between  Anglo-Indians  and  the  people  whom  they  rule  in 
India. 

A  native  writer  attributes  it  to  the  earlier  experiences  of  the  English 
with  barbarian  races  in  other  parts  of  the  world  which  have  caused  an 
instinctive,  uncontrollable  feeling  of  contempt  for  any  people  with  a 
dark  complexion — in  other  words  to  "the  antipathy  of  a  white  man 
for  a  nigger." 

A  different  explanation,  however,  is  given  by  an  Englishman.  He 
says : 

"Most  likely  the  sentiments  and  prejudices  that  stand,  in  the  way 
of  a  free  intercourse  between  the  races  are  so  complex  that  any  simple 
explanation  would  be  impossible.  We  are  partly  to  blame,  or  rather 
to  be  pitied,  for  a  certain  stiffness  of  demeanor  which  always  makes 
a  foreigner  ill  at  ease  in  our  company.  The  average  Englishman  be- 
haves no  worse  to  the  native  of  India  than  he  often  does  to  a  German 
or  an  Italian.  As  a  nation  we  are  seldom  happy  in  our  intercourse 
with  strangers  of  another  race  ;  and  Indian  gentlemen  are  a])t  to 
mistake  the  ^^//r/zm^  of  our  national  manners  for  contemptuous  intoler- 
ance. Then,  again,  the  conditions  under  which  most  P2nglishmen  live 
in  India  have  helped  to  make  it  difficult  for  the  two  races  to  join  in 
social  amusements.  The  hard-worked  Anglo-Indian  has  little  time  to 
cultivate  the  amenities  of  society,  save  those  which  conduce  most 
directly  to  his  own  health  and  comfort.  He  has  little  leisure  to 
fulfil  the  rather  exacting  requirements  of  Oriental  etiquette.  A  tropical 
sun  leaves  only  a  few  hours  in  the  day  for  the  pleasures  of  life,  and 


68 


LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 


these  are  more  easily  pursued  in  the  company  of  his  own  country- 
men." 

A  British  newspaper  also  says  that  "  the  arguments  which  Anglo- 
Indian  society  chiefly  relies  on  to  justify  its  exclusiveness 'are  by  no 
means  easily  met.  It  will  be  urged,  for  instance,  that  Hindus  as  a 
rule  regard  the  European  as  unclean  ;  that  Muhammadans  look  upon 
women,  English  ladies  included,  with  sentiments  which,  to  politer 
Europe,  have  seemed  liorrible  ever  since  the  days  of  kniglit-errantry. 
You  cannot  well  be  fjiendly,  says  the  Anglo-Indian,  with  a  man  who 
directly  you  leave  will  carefully  purify  himself  from  the  contamination 
of  your  visit.  You  would  not  have  your  wife  and  daughters  stared  "at 
and  spoken  to  by  men  whose  theories  about  the  sex  are  untranslatable. 
Arguments  of  this  kind  are  usually  accepted  as  convincing.  Still, 
on  the  other  hand,  were  native  society  homogeneous — consisting  either 
of  all  Hindus  or  all  Muhammadans,  all  Sikhs  or  all  Rajputs — a  modus 
Vivendi  would  most  likely  have  been  discovered  long  ago.  Perhaps, 
therefore,  the  real  impediment  to  a  closer  and  kindlier  intercourse  is 
the  difficulty  of  being  several  things  to  several  conditions  of  men — of 
being  an  adept  in  some  three  or  four  different  ceremonials  and  a 
master  of  as  many  different  styles  of  conversation.  As  at  present 
informed,  Anglo-Indian  society  is  of  opinion  that  the  trouble  needed 
to  acquire  such  arts  is  not  worth  taking." 

All  admit,  however,  that  the  present  situation  is  a  political  mis- 
fortune. 


AN    ANGLO-INDIAN'S    FRIEND. 


CHAPTER  VII 

FINANCIAL   CONDITIONS 

Ordinary  Appropriations — Gifts  for  Special  Objects— For  Permanent  Improvements 
— The  Stewart  Fund — The  Q.  C.  Fund — Help  from  the  Women's  Board  and 
Sabbath  Schools — Contributions  in  India  Ilself^Governmcnt  Aid — Favorable 
Exchange. 

ONEY  is  as  necessary  to  mission  work  as  to  other  enterprises. 
Hence  it  is  a  pleasure  to  note  that  our  financial  condition 
was  constantly  improving  during  most  of  the  period  about 
which  we  are  writing. 
This  was  true  first  of  the  amount  appropriated  by  the  home  church 
for  our  current  expenses  year  by  year.  The  proportion  of  mission 
funds  approved  for  India  by  tlie  Assembly  of  1881  was  not  quite 
four-elevenths  of  the  whole  amount  appropriated  to  the  foreign  field  ; 
since  1884  it  has  been  about  one-half.  The  amount  expended  in  1881 
was  almost  exactly  $20,000 ;  in  1891  it  was  about  $48,000.  Several 
causes  contributed  to  this  change:  first,  the  growing  liberality  of  the 
American  Church ;  secondly,  better  acquaintance  with  oiu-  work  ; 
thirdly,  the  manifest  blessing  of  God  upon  our  field  ;  and  finally 
persistent  effort  on  the  part  of  our  missionaries  to  bring  about  this 
result,  including  an  appeal  to  the  Board  and  a  memorial  to  the  General 
Assembly. 

The  money  given  for  special  objects  by  people  at  home  in  our  own 
church  has  also  increased,  just  as  it  has  in  other  denominations.  In 
this  way  some  pupils  have  been  supported  in  our  schools,  some  Bible 
women  have  been  employed,  and  even  the  salaries  of  some  mission- 
aries have  been  paid.     From  the  very  beginning  of  the  period  about 


70  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

which  we  are  writing  until  his  deatli,  March  21,  1893,  money  was 
furnished  by  Mr.  T.  D.  Anderson,  of  Baltimore,  Md.,  to  support  two 
lady  missionaries  in  zenana  work.  Others  have  pursued  a  similar 
course  ;  and  especially  has  this  been  true  of  missionary  societies,  con- 
gregations, Sabbath  Schools,  Colleges  and  Theological  Seminaries.  A 
generous  rivalry  has  sprung  up  between  different  localities  and  organi- 
zations, the  result  of  which  is  that  nearly  all  our  lady  workers  and 
some  of  our  ordained  men  also  have  their  salaries  paid  by  special  agencies. 
Although  the  money  thus  contributed  does  not  theoretically  increase 
the  amount  of  our  current  funds,  but  merely  diminishes  the  sum  re- 
quired to  be  given  through  regular  church  channels,  as  a  matter  of 
fact  its  effect  thus  far  has  been  to  stimulate  greatly  the  whole  mission 
movement,  increase  the  number  of  our  laborers  and  swell  the  funds  of 
our  general  treasury.  Indeed,  at  one  time  it  carried  our  church 
through  an  important  crisis,  and  even  yet  we  hardly  see  how  our 
foreign  work  could  get  along  without  it. 

What  the  ultimate  effect  of  thus  giving  for  special  objects  may  be,  is 
hard  to  say.  Some  think  it  tends  to  narrow  the  missionary  views  and 
feelings  of  both  givers  and  receivers  and  prevent  the  growth  of  that 
broadening  outlook  and  all-embracing  sympathy  upon  which  alone 
a  steady,  healthy  advancement  in  the  support  of  Christ's  cause  can  be 
based — to  say  nothing  of  its  effect  upon  the  great  motives  which  should 
underlie  and  dominate  all  liberality  and  Christian  activity,  viz.,  love 
of  the  Saviour  and  love  of  souls.  But,  as  already  intimated,  such  re- 
sults have  not  yet  been  particularly  visible.* 

For  permanent  improvements  also  we  have  received  very  generous 
contributions.  Four  of  these  deserve  particular  mention  :  namely,  the 
Stewart  Legacy,  the  Quarter  Centennial  Fund,  the  appropriations 
made  by  the  Women's  Board  for  Hospitals  and  Dispensaries,  and  col- 
lections received  from  Sabbath  Schools. 

The  bequest  of  over  $40,000  made  by  Archibald  Stewart,  Esq.,  of 
Indiana,  Pa.,  came  into  the  hands  of  the  Foreign  Board  in  the 
years  1879-1S83.  After  $4000  had  been  deducted  to  pay  a  debt  due 
the  Egyptian  Mission,  twofifths  of  the  remainder  (or  about  $14,600) 

*  Dr.  Dennis  says,  "  Some  method  must  be  devised  by  which  voluntary  contribu- 
tions  to  foreign  missions  shall  appeal  not  simply  to  impulse  or  to  choice  or  to  incli- 
nation, but  to  an  abiding  conviction,  a  profound  sense  of  duty,  a  consciousness  of 
sacred  obligation  and  a  deep  spirit  of  personal  loyalty  to  our  Lord." — Foreign 
Missions  after  a  Century,  p.  220. 


FUNDS  FOR  PERMANENT  lAIPROVEMENTS  71 

were  given  to  the  India  Mission  and  appropriated  to  the  establishment 
of  such  a  Theological  and  Literary  Institute  as  would  prepare  native 
Christians  for  ordinary  religious  work  as  well  as  for  the  Christian 
ministry.  The  sum  designated  had  swollen  by  accruing  interest  to 
$15,710.22  before  it  left  America  and  since  its  arrival  in  India  has 
gained  over  thirty  per  cent,  from  the  same  cause — making  a  total  of 
about  50,000  rupees.  More  than  three-fourths  of  this  sum  was  ex- 
pended in  purchasing  the  ground  and  erecting  the  buildings  of  the 
Christian  Training  Institute.  The  rest — now  amounting  to  about 
14,000  or  15,000  rupees — is  still  in  the  hands  of  the  Mission  for  future 
improvements  of  a  similar  character. 

The  Quarter  Centennial  Fund  was  a  thank-offering  raised  to  com- 
memorate the  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  that  Union  (in  1858)  of  the 
Associate  and  the  Associate  Reformed  Churches  by  which  the  United 
Presbyterian  Church  of  North  America  was  formed.  Of  this  sum  one- 
fifth  was  appropriated  to  the  foreign  work  of  our  church — to  be  divided 
equally  between  its  Missions  in  Egypt  and  India.  India's  share,  as 
far  as  received  before  February,  1892,  amounted  to  91,451  rupees. 
This  had  increased,  by  accruing  interest,  about  12,000  rupees — mak- 
ing a  total  of  more  than  103,000  rupees. 

Nearly  all  of  this  fund  hitherto  expended  has  gone  to  the  improve- 
ment of  the  Girls'  Boarding  School  buildings  and  the  erection  of 
Mission  residences.  About  one-third  remains  still  in  the  mission 
treasury,  or  did  so  when  the  writer  left  India. 

From  the  Women's  Board  money  aggregating  $7000  or  $8000  was 
received  for  the  erection  of  buildings  connected  with  their  medical 
work  in  Sialkot,  Jhelum,  Bhera  and  other  places,  some  of  which  was 
raised  by  a  special  appeal. 

From  Sabbath  Schools  a  large  sum  has  been  recently  obtained  to 
assist  in  purchasing  the  property  transferred  to  us  at  Rawal  Pindi  when 
that  station  was  turned  over  to  our  church  by  the  Presbyterian  Board. 

These  permanent  improvements  have  been  of  great  importance  in 
establishing  and  carrying  on  our  work.  We  know  not  how  we  should 
have  succeeded  without  them.  In  a  wonderful  manner  God  raised  up 
ways  and  means  for  their  acquisition  just  as  they  were  wanted,  and 
greatly  blessed  us  in  so  doing.  We  think  that  we  have  been  more 
highly  favored  in  this  particular  than  most  Missions. 

But  other  sources  of  income  must  not  be  overlooked. 

One  of  these  is  the  benevolence  of  our  foreign   laborers,  most  of 


72  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

whom  adopt  the  tithe  rule  of  giving  and  contribute  liberally  in  various 
ways  to  aid  special  departments  of  their  own  or  their  neighbors'  work. 

Another  is  the  gifts  of  native  Christians,  who  not  only  help  to  main- 
tain pastors,  but  also  contribute  to  the  erection  of  village  churches  and 
the  support  of  evangelistic  laborers. 

A  third  is  the  generosity  of  English  officers  and  residents.  The 
amount  received  from  this  source,  however,  is  not  as  great  as  that 
obtained  by  the  Missions  of  some  other  denominations;  nor  is  it  as 
great  in  our  case  as  many  persons  might  suppose  it  should  be.  The 
reasons  are  obvious.  First,  none  of  these  people  are  members  of  our 
church,  or  admitted  in  any  way  to  the  management  of  our  work;  while 
at  the  same  time  they  can  find  in  the  neighborhood  numerous  mission- 
ary undertakings  of  their  own  churches,  which  naturally  absorb  the 
chief  part  of  their  interest  and  liberality.  And  then  for  policy's  sake 
we  make  little  effort  to  solicit  their  patronage  and  pecuniary  aid.  In 
solving  the  various  problems  of  our  missionary  life  we  feel  more  inde- 
pendent and  under  less  obligation  to  consult  the  wishes  and  prejudices 
of  others  when  only  a  small  fraction  of  our  income  is  due  to  their 
benevolence.  Nevertheless  we  do  receive  some  contributions  from  this 
source,  but  chiefly  for  those  semi-secular  departments  of  our  work — 
educational  and  medical,  for  instance^which  present  a  civilizing  and 
humanizing,  as  well  as  an  evangelizing  aspect.  Since  the  Lady  Duf- 
ferin  scheme  was  started  in  the  summer  of  1885  medical  aid  for  native 
women  has  been  particularly -popular  with  the  official  classes,  and  our 
Mission  has  shared  with  other  agencies  their  gifts  to  this  object.  The 
Lady  Dufferin  Fund  itself,  however,  cannot  be  drawn  upon  for  the 
support  of  medical  missionary  work.  This  is  one  of  the  conditions 
under  which  it  obtains  subscriptions,  deference  being  paid  to  the 
wishes  of  Hindu  and  Muharamadan  patrons. 

Another  source  from  which  we  secure  pecuniary  help  is  the  govern- 
ment proper.  This  occurs  chiefly  in  our  educational  and  medical  de- 
partments— and  for  the  same  reasons,  moreover,  as  have  just  been 
mentioned  in  accounting  for  the  private  contributions  of  the  English 
to  these  branches  of  mission  work.  Through  special  favor  for  a  time, 
and  (since  1886)  through  conformity  to  the  rules  of  a  new  educational 
code,  some  of  our  schools  for  boys  or  girls  in  Jhelum,  Gujranwala, 
Sialkot  and  Rawal  Pindi  have  received  "grants-in-aid"  from  public 
funds,  without  which  a  part  of  them  might  have  been  disbanded.  The 
Gujranwala  High  School,  indeed,  has  thus  become  almost  independent 


GOVERNMENT  AID,    FEES  AND   EXCHANGE  73 

of  the  mission  treasury.  Donations  of  land  were  also  made  by  the 
government  to  our  Women's  Memorial  Hospital  in  Sialkot  during  the 
years  1888  and  1889,  while  yearly  appropriations  to  its  support  are 
made  by  both  the  Municipal  and  District  Committees.  Some  might 
question  the  policy,  and  even  the  morality,  of  such  entangling  alli- 
ances with  the  Powers  of  the  land,  and  doubt  whether  they  do  not 
lead  to  more  evil  than  good.  But  we  are  bound  at  any  rate  to  record 
them  as  matters  of  history  and  to  state  also  that  they  have  been  the 
means  of  considerable  pecuniary  help. 

Fees  paid  by  school  pupils  and  doctors'  patients  is  the  last  item  of 
direct  revenue  which  requires  particular  mention  ;  nor  has  it  been  by 
any  means  an  unimportant  one. 

Indirectly,  too,  it  may  be  remarked.  Providence  has  favored  ns  in 
the  transfer  of  money  from  America  to  India.  Owing  to  the  depreci- 
ation of  the  silver  coinage  of  India,  our  Bills  of  Exchange  have  realized 
more  and  more  as  the  years  rolled  on,  while  the  purchasing  power  of 
rupees  has  diminished  much  less  rapidly.  Only  once  during  the  past 
fifteen  years  has  there  been  any  considerable  rise  in  the  rate  of  ex- 
change. That  was  in  the  summer  and  fall  of  1890,  when  the  United 
States  Congress  passed  a  law  requiring  the  monthly  purchase  of 
4,500,000  ounces  of  silver.  Commencing  with  1882  and  ending  with 
1894  the  number  of  rupees  received  for  every  ^100  averaged  each 
year  as  follows:  245,  252,  251^,  261  j{,  281,  286,  297,  296y6,  266, 
285^,  319^,  324^,  361.  Thus  while  some  loss  was  incurred  by  the 
early  transfer  of  permanent  funds  to  the  mission  field  there  has  been  a 
decided  gain  in  the  matter  of  current  funds.  Every  hundred  dollars 
sent  by  our  Foreign  Board  in  1892  for  the  general  work  was  worth 
forty-seven  per  cent,  more  to  us  than  the  same  amount  in  1882. 

In  almost  every  way,  therefore,  God  has  blessed  our  Mission  finan- 
cially during  the  past  fourteen  or  fifteen  years,  raising  up  friends 
just  at  the  required  time,  and  ordering  his  general  providence  so  as  to 
swell  the  receipts  of  our  sacred  treasury.  While  it  is  true  that  we 
might  have  used  to  advantage  much  more  money  than  we  actually  got, 
and  while  it  is  also  true  that  the  church  miglit  have  sent  us  far  more 
than  she  did,  we  are  exceedingly  thankful  that  the  pecuniary  conditions 
under  which  we  operated  were  as  good  as  they  proved  to  be. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
CONDITIONS  OF   TRAVEL  AND  COMMUNICATION 

Metaled  Roads — Mud  Roads  and  Bypaths — Railways — Dak  Gharies — Tongas— 
Ekkas — Dolies — Dandies — Shigrams — Turn-turns — Control  of  Public  Con- 
veyances— Traveling  Outfit — Inns — The  India  Postal  Service — Its  Arrangements 
and  Advantages. 

LTHOUGH  India  is  a  very  populous  country  and  many  of 

its    inhabitants  can    be   reached  without    effort,   easy   and 

quick  modes  of  travel    and  communication  are  important 

matters  in  evangelizing  its  general  masses  and  establishing 

among  them  the  Christian  Church. 

Fortunately  in  the  neighborhood  of  central  stations,  between  large 
cities,  and  on  tliewaytothe  hills,  we  have  roads  of  superior  excellence. 
In  our  part  of  the  country  there  is  a  large  amount  of  a  certain  kind  of 
half-solidified  calcareous  limestone,  called  kankar,  forming  a  stratum 
two  or  three  feet  thick,  several  yards  below  the  surface  of  the  ground 
on  the  plains,  which  makes  the  very  best  material  for  roads.  After 
being  broken  into  small  pieces,  softened  with  water  and  pounded  down 
into  an  even,  compact  layer,  it  produces  a  turnpike  unsurpassed,  if  not 
(74) 


A'O.tDS  IN  INDIA  75 

uiH(|ii,iIk(l,  ill  tlic  world  for  siuoolluicss  ;uul  solidity.  Over  such 
loads — never  ilistmbeil  by  frost  uiiil  every  ilay  swept  by  low-casle 
coolies — wheeled  conveyances  can  roll  at  the  most  raind  pace  with 
scarcely  a  jar,  and  teams  can  draw  the  heaviest  loads.  Within  the 
limits  of  our  mission  Icrriloi  y  tmiipikes  of  this  character  have  been 
made  bctwei'u  Lahore  and  Altock,  between  Sialkot  and  Wazirabad, 
and  between  Amrilsar  and  Tathankot — to  say  nothinf;  of  many  smaller 
thorough fiires  and  of  streets  in  cantonments. 

On  the  way  to  the  various  hill  stations  also,  roads,  more  or  less  solid 
in  their  formation  and  more  or  less  ada[)led  to  the  use  of  wheeled  ve- 
hicles, have  been  gradually  pre[)ared,  while  treacherous  mountain 
streams  have  been  spanned  by  stone  or  iron  britlges.  Between  Rawal 
Pindi  and  Murree,  except  in  two  places,  where  streams  remain  im- 
briilgeil,  an  admirable  road  was  finished  many  years  ago,  since  which 
perioil  to/ii^iis  have  been  carrying  passengers  over  the  route  at  the  rate 
of  eight  or  ten  miles  an  luun-. 

Between  l\ithankot  and  1  )alhousii',  and  especially  between  I'athan- 
kot  and  hliaruisala,  where  our  missionaiies  have  generally  gone  for 
rest,  the  progress  in  making  good  roads  has  been  slower.  Not  until 
the  summer  of  1S90  was  the  Chakki  bridged — that  broad,  treacherous 
stream  whose  crossing  was  so  nnu  h  drcailed  by  travelers.  And,  al- 
though e/^•/cirs  sometimes  made  the  journey  between  the  two  latter 
stations,  oidy  a  missionary  would  think  of  driving  a  four-wheeled  con- 
veyance over  the  route  ;  and  hi'  only  occasionally.  Hut  a  Av/^'fC  ser- 
vice has  at  last  been  started,  carrying  passengers  as  far  as  Shahpur,  or 
about  three- fourths  of  the  way  ;  and  in  the  course  of  time  we  may 
hope  that  the  road,  ami  the  means  of  travel  in  that  direction,  will  be 
all  that  any  one  could  wish. 

Besides  the  metaled  {/.wi/ciir)  roads  of  whiih  we  have  spoken,  there 
are  some  prelly  fair  ordiiiaiy  "  nuid  roads,"  connecting  the  prini  ipal 
towns  of  llu'  variiius  histricts.  'Hiese  are  often  filty  or  sixty  feet 
wide,  skirti'd  by  Iwo  or  more  rows  of  trees  and  carried  across  muddy 
streams  (and  sloughs)  by  biidges  or  beds  of  masonry.  Duiiiig  a 
large  part  of  the  year  these  highways  may  be  traversed  by  carts,  and 
even  carriages,  with  some  degree  of  ease;  but  in  dry  weather  they  get 
very  dusty  ami  in  the  rainy  season  very  muddy.  Nor  have  improve- 
ments progressed  far  enough  to  secure  in  many  places  the  bridging  of 
those  broad,  sandy,  changeable  and  more  dangerous  streams  (such  as 
the  Degh  and  the  Ra\'i)  which  lie  between   some  of  our  chief  mission 


7r>  LIFE   AND    WORK  IN  IXDIA 

centres.  If  these  streams  are  too  deep  to  be  forded  they  must  be 
crossed  on  rude,  flatboat  ferries. 

l^ranching  out  from  tliese  hard  (^pakkd)  and  soft  {kac/icJi/ui)  roads, 
whicli  are  duly  kept  up  by  the  government,  is  a  vast  net-work  of  un- 
fenced  lanes  and  jxathways,  by  wliich  every  village  and  every  well  is 
brought  into  contact  with  the  outer  world.  In  width  these  minor 
roads  range  from  two  to  ten  or  twelve  feet ;  they  are  often  hollowed 
out,  through  excessive  wear  and  the  encroaching  enterprise  of  neigh- 
boring farmers  ;  they  are  sometimes  crossed  by  little  earthen  aqueducts, 
used  in  the  process  of  irrigation  ;  they  are  seldom  level,  or  entirely  free 
from  obstructions  ;  and  in  rainy  weather  they  are  frccjuently  filled  with 
water  or  deep  mud.  As  might  be  imagined,  therefore,  traveling  by 
these  roads  is  very  difficult,  except  on  foot  or  horseback.  Yet  in  a 
suitable  season  some  do  manage  to  wend  their  way  through  them,  or 
around  them,  in  itun-lums,  and  to  a  small  extent  also  in  four-wheeled 
spring-wagons. 

India  is  not  remarkable  for  its  railroads  ;  but  a  beginning  was  made 
in  1853,  when  the  first  Hue  of  a  few  miles  was  opened  between  Bombay 
and  Thana.  Now  about  18,500  miles  are  finished  and  in  successful 
operation,  about  as  many  as  in  the  whole  of  South  America.  These 
traverse  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  peninsula  and  connect  all  the 
great  cities  and  military  cantonments.  Some  are  owned  and  managed 
by  the  government  ;  but  most  are  constructed  by  private  capital  on 
which  a  certain  minimum  of  interest  is  guaranteed  by  the  govern- 
ment, to  which  in  return  they  owe  a  certain  measure  of  subordination. 
Of  the  Punjab  railways,  two  were  in  operation  when  the  writer  entered 
our  field  :  the  Northern  State,  which  ran  from  Lahore  to  Peshawar, 
and  the  Scinde,  Punjab  and  Delhi,  which,  by  its' two  great  arms,  con- 
nected Lahore  with  Karachi  on  the  one  hand,  and  Delhi  on  the  other. 
A  branch  of  the  latter,  however,  starting  at  Amritsar,  was  finished  as 
far  as  Dinanagar  in  November,  18S3.  and  as  far  as  Pathankot,  in  January, 
18S4.  A  branch  of  the  former  also,  striking  off  at  Wazirabad,  was 
opened  to  Sialkot,  December  10,  1883,  and  to  'lawi,  near  Jamu,  March 
15,  1890.  Shortly  before,  too,  the  Sind  Sagar  Line — which  at  first 
was  simply  an  offshoot  of  the  Northern  State,  leading  from  Lala  Musa 
to  the  Salt  Mines  near  Pint!  Dadan  Khan — was  (for  military  reasons) 
]nished  forward  to  the  west  and  northwest,  a  section  of  it  reaching 
Bhera,  one  of  our  more  important  stations,  in  January,  1882.  These 
extensions  added  greatly  to  our  railway  advantages  and  helped  much 


RAIL  WA  Y  ACCOM  MO  DA  TIONS  Tl 

to  clieupcn,  as  well  as  cx[)cclitc,  our  missionary  journeys.  The  two 
great  lines  and  their  branches,  it  may  also  be  remarked,  were  subse- 
(juently  consolidated  into  one  system,  called  the  Northwestern  Rail- 
way, which  has  since  been  operated  directly  by  the  government. 

Railway  accommodations  in  India  are  dilTcrent  from  those  of  almost 
any  other  country  in  the  world.  As  in  iMuoi^e,  they  are  of  several 
grades — first,  second,  intermetliate  and  third  classes — of  which  (on 
the  Northwestern  Railway)  the  fare  for  the  first  grade  is  from  one  to 
one  and  a  \\d\{  annas  (that  is,  from  twcj  to  three  cents)  a  mile;  for  the 
secontl  grade,  half  as  much;  for  the  inlerniediale,  half  the  latter;  and 
f(jr  the  third  grade,  one-third  (;f  the  second  class,  or  one-sixth  of  the 
first. 

'I'liirtl-class  carriages  are  box  cars,  well  ventilated  through  open 
windows,  entered  from  the  sides  by  many  doors,  and  either  seated 
crosswise  in  compartments,  or  lengthwise  in  four  rows — a  second  story 
sometimes  being  seen.  In  these  may  be  crovvtled  eighty  or  one  hun- 
dred passengers. 

Intermediate  carriages  differ  from  these  in  being  provided  with  glass 
windows,  in  having  comj)artments  shut  off  from  each  other  by  close 
])arlitions,  and  in  other  respects. 

Second-class,  as  well  as  first-class  carriages,  contain  only  two  cf)m- 
partments — both  kinds,  however,  being  often  found  united  under  the 
same  roof.  These  compartments  (of  both  grades)  are  entered  from 
the  side,  have  cushioned  scats  six  feet  long,  u])per  berths  (to  be  let 
down  at  pleasure)  and  toilet  rooms.  They  are  also  intended  to  ac- 
commodate at  night  oidy  as  many  passengers  as  there  are  scats  and 
berths,  so  as  to  i)rovide  sleeping  facilities  for  every  occupant. 

First-class  compartments  are  more  attractively  fiuMiished  than  the 
second-class,  and  are  made  to  hold  fewer  people,  four  being  the  usual 
limit  in  the  former  and  five,  or  seven,  in  the  latter. 

All  the  carriages,  exce[)t  third-class,  arc  lighted  at  night  by  kero- 
sene lamps  let  down  through  the  roof,  whose  heat  is  cut  off  from  the 
interior  of  the  rooms  by  semi-spherical,  inverted  glass  globes.  Night 
travelers  are  expected  to  provide  their  own  bedding,  and  nothing  is 
more  common  among  a  passenger's  luggage  than  his  bundle  of  pillows 
and  comforters,  wrai)pcd  uj)  probably  in  a  i)iece  of  strijK'd  blue  and 
white  cotton  carpet  and  held  together  either  by  a  rope  or  a  big  shawl- 
strap.  Provision  is  always  made  in  the  lowest  two  grades,  and  some- 
times in  the  upper  two,  for  a  separation  of  the  sexes ;  while  reserved 


78  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

carriages  or  compartments,  may  be  had  at  additional  expense  by  pre- 
vious arrangement. 

British  officials  are  expected  to  ride  first-class  and  British  soldiers 
second-class.  Natives  and  other  Europeans,  if  they  can  afford  it,  may, 
and  often  do,  travel  in  these  grades  also ;  but  the  common  people  gen- 
erally are  satisfied  with  third-class  accommodations.  Missionaries  on 
long  journeys  usually  ride  second-class;  but  on  short  trips,  and  in 
ordinary  cases,  they  travel  either  intermediate,  or  third-class. 

The  stations  on  an  East  Indian  railway  are  usually  very  pretty,  sub- 
stantial, one-storied  brick  structures  containing  a  variety  of  waiting, 
dining  and  baggage  rooms,  telegraph  and  booking  offices,  verandas, 
punklias  and  all  the  other  accommodations  needed  by  travelers,  while 
they  are  generally  decorated  with  vines  and  flanked  by  tastefully  ar- 
ranged flower  beds  or  grass  plots.  In  large  centres,  too,  immense 
arched  roofs  cover  the  railway  tracks  and  protect  the  incoming  and 
outgoing  trains  from  rain  or  sun.  At  these  stations  coolies  are  always 
present  ready  to  carry  luggage  or  do  errands,  while  venders  of  fruit, 
sweets  and  curiosities  wander  from  carriage  to  carriage  offering  their 
wares  for  sale  and  singing  their  peculiar  but  monotonous  songs.  Hired 
Hindu  and  Muhammadan  water-carriers  are  also  present,  especially  in 
warm  weather,  ready  to  supply  the  wants  of  passengers  of  their  own 
faith  ;  and  sometimes  the  latter  will  condescend  to  pour  a  little  of  the 
contents  oiX^x'i ghara  into  the  hands,  or  the  vessel,  of  a  thirsty  Chris- 
tian. 

While  American  railway  travel  may  be  more  rapid  and,  in  Pullman 
cars,  more  luxurious  than  East  Indian,  there  can  be  no  question  that  the 
latter  has  advantages  for  privacy,  comfort  and  economy  superior  to 
that  which  is  ordinarily  experienced  in  the  home  land. 

Besides  the  railway  carriages  which  have  just  been  described,  a  great 
variety  of  conveyances  may  be  found  in  India — some  peculiar  to  tlie 
country;  others  imported,  or  invented,  by  foreigners. 

In  a  few  places  the  dak  gari  (pronounced  dock  garry)  is  still  used. 
This,  which  may  be  seen  in  an  accompanying  illustration,  is  a  four- 
wheeled,  covered,  box-shaped,  spring-wagon,  so  arranged  that  the  two 
occupants  can  either  sit  or  lie  at  pleasure.  The  dak  gari  is  carried 
with  rapid  speed  (sometimes  fifteen  miles  an  hour)  over  smooth  roads 
by  horses,  changed  every  five  miles.  Traveling  by  it,  however,  is 
expensive  (from  ten  to  thirty  cents  a  mile  for  each  passenger),  and 
gradually  railroads,  or  tongas,  are  taking  its  place. 


80  LIFE  AND  WORK  IN  INDIA 

The  tonga  is  a  two-wheeled  spring-cart  in  which  the  semi-circular 
bed  is  swung  very  low,  with  either  one  cross-seat  behind,  backed  by  the 
driver's,  or  two  side-seats.  Its  cover  is  a  low,  semi-cylindrical,  iron- 
framed,  canvas-backed  affair — intended  to  shield  the  occupants  from 
either  sun  or  rain.  Luggage  can  be  tucked  under  the  seats,  or  lashed 
to  the  sides  over  flanges  thrown  out  for  the  purpose.  As  in  the  case 
of  dak  garies,  tonga  horses — of  which  there  may  be  one,  two  or  three 
running  side  by  side — are  changed  every  i^w  miles.  This  is  rapidly 
becoming  the  fiivorite  public  veliicle  for  carrying  travelers  back  and 
forth  between  hill  stations  and  railways. 

Tlie  ekka  {ox  yakkd),  of  which  illustrations  may  be  seen  elsewhere,* 
is  a  light,  one-horse,  covered,  native  cart  whose  spring  comes  alto- 
gether from  the  bamboos  and  slender  poles  of  which  it  is  largely 
composed.  It  has  no  seat — only  a  floor,  less  than  three  feet  square, 
elevated  higher  than  the  wheels,  on  which  the  rider  or  riders  (for  there 
are  often  five  or  six  of  them)  squat,  or  sit  flat.  As  the  wheels  are  ir- 
regularly made  and  wabble  badly  and  the  horses  are  often  miserably 
trained  creatures,  ekka  riding,  in  the  posture  described,  is  not  always 
a  pleasure.  But  it  is  sometimes  adopted  by  missionaries  on  country 
roads  and  in  going  to  the  hills.  It  is  cheap,  only  two  cents  a  mile  for 
the  use  of  a  whole  ekka. 

The  doli  {ox  palanquin)  is  an  ancient,  Oriental  conveyance,  which 
has  often  been  described.  An  illustration  of  it  may  be  seen  elsewhere. f 
Although  far  from  luxurious,  no  mode  of  travel,  when  all  goes  well,  is 
easier,  or  better  for  invalids  and  children,  than  by  this,  especially  over 
rough  roads,  and  in  going  to  the  hills  it  has  been  much  employed. 
But,  as  it  is  somewhat  expensive  and  slow,  and  bearers  are  becoming 
very  unreliable,  it  is  gradually  passing  away. 

Dandies  and  jhanipans\  are  used  much  by  ladies  in  hill  stations,  as 
also  ^xQkhatolas\iox  small  children.  All  of  these  belong  to  the  pal- 
anquin order,  and  are  carried  by  men  trained- for  the  purpose. 

In  large  stations  shigranis  (shaped  like  dak  garies)  and  carriages 
may  be  hired  at  a  fixed  hourly  or  daily  rate  for  travel  within  the  city 
limits. 

Besides  such  public  conveyances,  all  sorts  of  private  carriages  are 
kept  by  English  people.  But  spring-carts — some  with  and  some  with- 
out tops — are  more  common  than  anything  else.  These  can  be  used 
to  advantage  on  country  roads,  as  well  as  those  in  the  main  station. 

*  Page  367.  •}•  Page  135.  J  See  illustration  on  page  49, 


PUBLIC  AND   PRIVATE    CONVEYANCES.  81 

Missionaries  occasionally  have  carriages  or  spring-wagons  of  their 
own,  but  a  one-horse,  two-wheeled  vehicle,  commonly  called  a  tum- 
tum,  is  their  standard  conveyance.  This  has  two  seats  back  to  back, 
and  is  useful  under  almost  all  circumstances.  Sometimes  riding  horses 
or  ponies  are  used  by  them  (especially  by  the  young  ladies)  in  village 
work,  while  jinrickshas,  drawn  by  coolies,  are  occasionally  employed 
in  going  to  and  from  city  zenanas,  or  girls'  schools  ;  nor  are  bicycles 
altogether  unknown. 

Public  conveyances  of  all  kinds,  and  burden  bearers  are  largely 
under  the  management  and  control  of  the  government.  When  a  man 
wants  ponies,  mules,  baugiwalas,  coolies,  bullock  carts,  or  camels,  for 
carrying  luggage,  or  when  he  requires  palanquins,  ekkas  and  other 
means  of  travel,  it  is  generally  necessary  for  him  to  address  a  note  to  a 
government  official  who  has  charge  of  the  business,  or  to  a  semi-official 
agent,  who  (as  for  instance  in  the  case  of  dak  ghari  zxidi  palanquin 
owners)  has  certain  recognized  privileges  and  responsibilities,  through 
whom  the  requisite  service  is  obtained.  To  some  extent  this  arrange- 
ment means  forced  labor;  but  without  it,  in  many  cases,  the  traveler 
would  be  put  to  great  inconvenience  and  often  fail  to  get  on  at  all. 
Besides,  the  employed,  as  well  as  the  employer,  are  thus  protected  fully 
in  their  rights,  and  in  many  cases  prefer  working  under  a  government 
order  (Juikm')  to  the  hap-hazard  of  a  more  voluntary  method. 

Not  without  much  annoyance  and  loss,  however,  does  a  foreigner 
travel  in  India  by  any  other  public  conveyance  than  the  railway. 
Whole  chapters  might  be  written  of  balky,  sorebacked,  wicked  horses, 
unpunctual  doli-bearers,  dishonest  coolies,  tricky  boat  owners,  and 
wretched  conveyances. 

This  part  of  my  book  would  not  be  complete  if  I  did  not  speak  of 
the  arrangements  which  a  paternal  government  has  made  in  India  to 
accomodate  the  traveling  public  when  they  wish  to  stop,  rest  and 
refresh  themselves.  Serais,  or  native  inns,  are  found  in  many  places, 
where  for  a  small  fee  animals  may  be  fed,  victuals  cooked  and  beds 
spread  for  the  night.  Dak  (or  stage)  bungalows,  also,  have  been 
erected  on  every  main  road  at  regular  intervals,  where  Europeans 
may  get  every  requisite  for  satisfactory  lodging  and  eating  at  estab- 
lished prices — except  bed  clothing.  This  it  must  be  remembered,  is 
always  provided  by  the  traveler  himself  and  must  be  carried  with  him 
wherever  he  goes.  Some  hotels,  indeed,  furnish  the  use  of  mattresses 
and  bed  clothing  (perhaps  at  a  little  extra  charge) ;  but  the  rule  in 
6 


82  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

India  is  that  a  tourist  or  a  guest  must  have  with  him,  as  part  of  his 
personal  luggage,  everything  of  this  kind  which  he  needs.  It  is  as 
necessary  a  part  of  his  baggage  as  his  changes  of  raiment ;  and  when- 
ever a  sahib  makes  a  journey  you  will  be  as  sure  to  see  among  his 
effects  a  bundle  of  comforters,  blankets  and  pillows,  as  a  valise,  a  trunk, 
or  a  money  satchel.  With  this  exception,  however,  a  regular  dak  bun- 
galow is  provided  with  every  needful  requirement.  It  is  only  in 
remote  districts  and  unfrequented  regions  that  travelers  are  thrown 
entirely  upon  the  mercy  of  residents,  or  compelled  to  carry  their  own 
provisions.  All  these  advantages,  of  course,  are  a  help  to  the  mis- 
sionary and  the  Christian  native  laborer,  as  well  as  others,  when  they 
need  them. 

But  there  are  other  means  of  communication  in  India  besides  those 
which  accommodate  passengers. 

One  of  these  is  the  Post  Office.  The  India  Postal  Service  is  one 
of  the  most  perfect  in  the  world.  According  to  the  census  of  1891 
it  numbers  more  than  8000  post  offices  and  71,000  miles  of  post  roads. 
These  are  found  in  all  parts  of  the  country.  Sometimes  the  mails  are 
carried  by  railway  and  sometimes  by  fonga,  but  often  by  relays  of 
runners,  who  travel  in  a  jogging  trot  five  miles  an  hour  and  keep  up  their 
movement  night  and  day.  The  soft  jingling  of  the  bells  of  these 
carriers  and  the  glitter  of  the  heads  of  their  mace-like  carrying-staffs  help 
to  enliven  travel  on  the  country  roads  and  at  night  often  add  to  the 
weirdness  and  the  romance  of  a  journey. 

Arrangements  are  made  for  the  carriage,  not  only  of  letters,  postal 
cards  and  papers,  but  also  of  packages,  to  any  part  of  India  and  the 
United  Kingdom.  Letters  of  an  important  character,  too,  can  be 
registered  and  even  insured,  at  some  additional  expense,  while  parcels 
can  be  sent,  if  desired,  "  value  payable  on  delivery  (V.  P.  D.),"  just  as 
express  companies  in  America  carry  goods  C.  O.  D. — the  money 
received  being  returned  to  the  sender  of  the  parcel.  Funds  also  can 
be  transferred  from  one  part  of  the  country  to  another  by  postal 
order. 

All  but  two  of  these  advantages  attach  also  to  communications  with 
the  foreign  countries  that  are  embraced  in  what  is  called  the  Postal 
Union,  among  which  is  our  American  Republic.  One  exception 
relates  to  parcels.  Only  books  and  other  printed  documents  can  be 
transmitted  as  such  through  the  mails  between  India  and  the  United 
States.     Other  articles  are  forbidden — chiefly  perhaps  on  account  of 


THE   INDIA   POSTAL    SYSTEM  83 

tariff  laws.  The  second  exception  is  that  of  registered  letters.  Money 
orders,  bills  of  exchange  and  letters  of  credit  must  take  their  place  in 
sending  funds.  Nor  are  rates  of  postage  excessive.  One-half  an 
anna,  that  is,  about  one  cent,  will  carry  a  letter  weighing  half  a  tola, 
that  is,  about  one-fifth  of  an  ounce,  to  any  part  of  British  territory  in 
India;  and  five  times  that  amount  will  carry  a  letter  weighing  half  an 
ounce  to  any  part  of  the  British  Empire,  or  any  Union  country  in  the 
world. 

Several  peculiarities  of  the  India  Postal  System  arrest  the  attention 
of  a  foreigner.  One  is  that  no  extra  charge  is  made  for  stamped 
envelopes,  as  is  done  in  the  United  States.  They  can  be  had  as 
cheaply  as  the  stamps  alone.  This  arrangement  is  made  to  encourage 
the  use  of  envelopes  among  natives.  Another  singular  thing  is  the 
permission  given  writers  to  cancel  their  own  stamps.  This  is  done 
to  prevent  their  being  pilfered  by  servants,  or  peons,  on  their  way  to 
the  post  office.  But  it  does  not  of  course  supersede  or  in  any  way 
interfere  with  the  official  cancellation  required  by  the  postal  department 
itself.  Another  characteristic  is  the  universal  employment  of  letter 
carriers  and  the  great  effort  made  to  reach  every  resident  and  give  him 
his  mail  in  his  own  home.  Every  post  office,  as  far  as  known,  has  its 
peons  hired  for  this  purpose,  and  each  peon  has  his  district,  and  to 
each  is  given  all  the  mail  matter  of  his  own  district ;  and  if  a  resident 
cannot  wait  until  his  letters  and  papers  are  brought  to  him  in  the 
regular  way  he  (or  his  messenger)  can  find  them  only  in  the  hands  of 
the  letter  carrier,  either  at  the  time  of  the  distribution  of  the  mail,  or 
while  the  carrier  is  making  his  circuit.  If  the  addressee  cannot  be 
found  after  a  thorough  search,  and  no  special  directions  have  been 
left  by  him  for  the  postmaster's  guidance,  his  correspondence  is 
forwarded  at  once  to  the  dead-letter  office.  Scarcely  anything  is 
retained  more  than  two  or  three  days  in  the  local  offices  themselves. 
Should  mistakes,  delays  or  villainous  acts  occur  and  proper  notice  be 
given,  nothing  can  surpass  the  promptness  and  thoroughness  with  which 
the  matter  is  investigated  and  remedied.  And,  to  furnish  all  needful 
information  in  regard  to  everything  connected  with  the  postal  service, 
a  guide  is  published  from  time  to  time  and  sold  at  a  nominal  price  ; 
while  printed  forms  and  blanks  are  supplied  in  any  quantity  when- 
ever required  for  postal  purposes.  Notices  of  a  change  in  the  time  of 
the  arrival  or  the  departure  of  mails  is  also  sent  to  every  sahib' s 
house. 


84 


LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 


Another  peculiarity  is  this :  that  every  post  office  of  any  size  is  also 
a  savings-bank,  where  small  sums  of  money  can  be  deposited  for  safe- 
keeping at  a  low  rate  of  interest — to  be  drawn  out  at  the  pleasure 
of  the  depositor,  according  to  fixed  rules.  This  is  a  very  convenient 
arrangement  for  the  poor  people  of  the  country.  They  can  thus  save 
many  a  pice  which  would  otherwise  be  squandered,  or,  what  is  worse, 
find  its  way  into  the  capacious  coffers  of  greedy  and  unscrupulous 
banyas.  Nor  are  ordinary  Anglo-Indian  banks  half  so  secure  as  the 
postal  service  institutions ;  for  the  latter  are  guaranteed  by  the  credit 
of  the  Indian  Government  itself. 

Scarcely  inferior  in  excellence  to  the  postal  service  in  India  is  its 
telegraph  system,  which  is  also  under  the  control  of  the  government. 
About  40,000  miles  of  wire  are  up  and  in  operation.  Lines  run  to 
every  District  capital  and  every  large  town.  Messages  can  be  sent 
night  and  day — "deferred"  for  half  a  rupee;  "ordinary"  for  one 
rupee  and  "preferred"  for  two  rupees — with  special  rates  for  com- 
munications containing  more  than  eight  words.  These  are  always  sent 
in  English  as  that  tongue  is  found  to  be  the  most  compact  and  the 
most  convenient  for  telegraphic  purposes.  Connection  is  also  made 
by  ocean  cables  with  all  the  other  telegraphic  systems  of  the  world. 
If  necessary  a  man  at  Sialkot,  or  Rawal  Pindi,  can  hold  converse  any 
day  with  his  friends  in  China,  Europe  or  America.  Telephones, 
however,  are  seldom  found  in  India — if  found  at  all.  Nor  is  it  likely 
that  they  will  become  common  in  that  country  soon — for  the  simple 
reason  probably  that  they  cannot  be  kept  so  completely  under  the 
control  of  the  government,  as  can  either  railways  or  telegraphs,  and 
should  disaffection  or  mutiny  arise,  they  might  be  made  a  means  of 
great  embarrassment  and  serious  political  trouble.  It  is  supposed  that 
even  if  a  Mission  would  establish  a  system  of  telephonic  communica- 
tion between  its  various  houses  in  the  same  station  the  authorities 
would  interfere  and  order  its  discontinuance. 


CHAPTER  IX 
LINGUISTIC    CONDITIONS 

Many  Tongues  in  India — The  Hindustani — The  Punjabi — The  Acquisition  of  Lan- 
guages — Conditions  of  Success. 

NDIA  is  a  country  of  many  languages.  Of  non-Aryan 
tongues  alone  Sir  William  Hunter,  in  his  book  entitled 
"The  Indian  Empire,"  gives  a  list  of  107,  besides  thirty- 
one  others  that  are  termed  closely  related  dialects.  Of 
Aryan  tongues  also,  which  are  directly  descended  from  the  Sanskrit 
and  spoken  by  the  great  body  of  the  people,  there  is  a  large  number — 
the  principal  of  which  are  the  Hindi,  the  Punjabi,  the  Gujrati,  the 
Marathi,  the  Urdu  (or  Hindustani)  and  probably  the  Bengali. 

The  Hindustani  (or  Urdu)  tongue  is  of  later  origin  than  most  of  the 
others.  It  sprang  up  during  the  eleventh  century  and  afterwards  in 
the  camps  of  the  Muhammadan  conquerors  of  India  ;  and,  although 
based  upon  the  Hindi,  it  contains  an  almost  equal  number  of  Persian 
and  Arabic  words — besides  a  considerable  sprinkling  of  English.  This 
tongue,  as  Whitney  says,  "  has  enjoyed  more  literary  cultivation  than 
any  other  of  the  recent  dialects  and  is  the  lingua  franca,  the  official 
language  and  means  of  general  intercourse,  throughout  the  whole  pen- 
insula." It  is  used  largely  in  schools,  is  the  language  of  men  more 
than  of  women,  of  the  bazar  more  than  of  the  household,  of  cities  more 
than  of  villages,  and  of  Muhammadans  more  than  of  Hindus.  Among 
the  Muhammadans  of  Northwestern   India,  Persian  is  a  very  popular 

(85) 


86  LIFE   AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

tongue,  and  on  account  of  its  gracefulness  is  often  employed  at  dur- 
bars and  in  making  presentation  addresses.  For  a  long  time  it  has 
been  the  French  of  the  East. 

On  the  northern  border  of  our  field  Kashmiri  is  spoken  by  some 
people  and  especially  Dogri ;  and,  in  Rawal  Pindi,  Pashtu  is  used  by  a 
i&^  immigrants  from  Afghanistan.  But  Punjabi  is  the  language  most 
used  by  the  masses.  This  language,  however,  has  been  much  modi- 
fied by  the  Hindustani,  and  in  no  two  Districts  is  it  just  the  same. 
Indeed  marked  variations  can  often  be  observed  within  the  limits  of 
a  few  miles.  Printed  Punjabi  books,  too — of  whicli^  however,  there 
are  very  few — present  generally  an  archaic  form  of  the  speech,  called 
the  Gurmukhi ;  although  the  Punjabi  of  to-day  is  not  altogether  un- 
represented in  published  literature.  As  education  grows  and  intelli- 
gence spreads  it  is  probable  that  Punjabi  will  become  more  and 
more  assimilated  to  Urdu  and  perhaps  be  supplanted  by  it  alto- 
gether. But  at  present  it  is  very  much  loved  by  the  people.  They 
call  it  a  mithizuban,  a  sweet  tongue.  It  is  the  language  of  their  child- 
hood, their  mothers  and  their  homes.  English  is,  of  course,  taught 
in  schools,  and,  being  the  tongue  of  their  rulers,  enjoys  a  peculiar 
prestige  among  educated  people  and  some  of  them  talk  it  very  cor- 
rectly and  even  beautifully  ;  but  as  only  360,000  natives  in  the  whole 
Indian  Empire — that  is,  one  in  800 — are  reported  in  the  last  census 
as  able  to  read  and  write  it,  there  is  at  present  absolutely  no  ground 
for  the  belief  that  it  will  eventually  become  the  language  of  the 
masses.  As  for  the  English  of  poor  whites  and  uncultured  Eurasians, 
that  often  shows  sad  degeneration  and,  with  its  local  idioms  and 
peculiar  accent,  seems  like  a  travesty  of  what  it  is  intended  to  be. 

Urdu,  or  Hindustani,  is  the  tongue  which  missionaries  generally 
first  undertake  to  learn  when  they  go  to  India ;  but  in  our  scheme  of 
studies  Punjabi  is  early  introduced  and,  as  the  years  roll  on,  will  be 
used  more  and  more.  A  preacher,  or  a  zenana  worker,  can  accom- 
plish very  little  in  our  villages  through  any  other  language.  As  a 
means  of  understanding  better  the  spoken  tongues  of  the  people, 
missionaries  sometimes  study  also  the  Persian  and  the  Arabic,  or  the 
Hindi  and  the  Sanskrit.  A  breadth  of  view  and  a  wealth  of  words 
are  thus  acquired  which  often  prove  highly  beneficial. 

The  acquisition  of  a  language,  so  as  to  think,  speak  and  write  in  it 
with  fluency  and  power,  is  a  great  work  and  generally  requires  several 
years  of  patient  labor.     The  eye,  the  ear,  the  hand,  the  tongue  and 


LEARAUiYG   FOREIGN   TONGUES  87 

the  throat  must  all  be  trained.  And  never  perliaps  does  a  foreigner, 
commencing  the  study  after  he  is  twenty  years  of  age,  so  learn  it  that 
his  origin  cannot  be  detected  by  a  native.  Generally,  indeed,  he  has 
a  marked  alien  accent. 

Hence  the  necessity  of  learning  the  tongue  (or  tongues)  of  the 
people  is  one  of  the  great  difficulties  lying  in  the  pathway  of  the  mis- 
sionary who  enters  our  foreign  fields  and  one  of  the  great  obstacles  to 
his  success  as  a  Christian  laborer.  Although  English  idioms,  tones 
and  defects  (being  those  of  the  governing  race)  are  as  free  from  offense 
as  any,  and  although,  unlike  the  vernacular  Arabic  in  Egypt  and 
Syria,  Indian  vernaculars  are  not  by  any  means  regarded  as  sacred, 
or  perfect,  by  those  who  speak  them,  still,  imperfection  in  their  use 
hinders  much  a  preacher's  usefulness;  and  herein  generally  lies  a 
great  difference  between  native  and  foreign  evangelists.  This  is  one 
reason  why  we  must  depend  so  largely  on  native  help,  and  why  the 
great  apostles  of  India  must  be  looked  for,  not  among  Englishmen, 
Americans  or  Germans,  but  among  the  Indians  themselves. 

For  the  benefit  of  persons  contemplating  missionary  work  we  ought 
also  to  remark  liere  that  success  in  overcoming  linguistic  difficulties 
depends  even  more  upon  natural  characteristics  of  body,  mind  and  dis- 
position than  upon  age.  As  a  man  is  in  his  native  English,  so  in  a 
somewhat  lower  degree  is  he  likely  to  be  in  any  other  language  which 
he  may  seek  to  acquire.  If  he  is  slow,  slovenly,  inaccurate,  hesitating, 
inelegant,  unattractive  or  weak  in  his  use  of  his  mother  tongue,  so  will 
he  be  also  in  his  use  of  the  Punjabi,  or  the  Urdu.  If  he  speaks,  spells 
and  writes  well  in  the  former,  so  with  sufficient  experience  will  he  also 
do  in  the  latter.  Scholarship,  eloquence  and  variety  of  speech,  or 
their  opposites,  are  simply  the  outgoings  of  the  man.  It  matters  little 
what  medium  of  expression  is  employed.  The  man  shines  forth  and 
cannot  be  materially  modified. 

But  previous  experience  in  learning  to  speak  and  write  foreign 
tongues  is  of  immense  advantage  to  a  person  in  thus  acquiring  a  new 
language  ;  and  the  larger  the  experience,  the  greater  the  advantage. 
This  arises  partly  from  the  fact  that  his  ear  by  such  experience  is  better 
trained  to  distinguish  sounds,  partly  because  a  man  who  can  freely  use 
more  than  one  language  is  not  so  embarrassed,  or  prejudiced,  by  the 
laws  and  the  peculiarities  of  his  own  vernacular,  or  in  other  words,  is 
more  ready  to  recognize  and  appreciate  strange  idioms,  and  partly 
from  the  fact  that  he  has  a  larger  stock  of  similar  words  and  analogous 


88  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

forms  of  speech  to  which  he  can  refer  as  a  help  to  his  understanding 
and  an  aid  to  his  memory. 

Children  of  missionaries,  too,  who  spend  part  of  their  early  life  in 
India,  have  a  great  advantage  over  others  in  learning  the  language  of 
that  country  when  they  return  at  mature  age  to  take  up  missionary 
work  there  ;  and  that,  too,  even  when,  as  a  matter  of  consciousness, 
they  have  entirely  forgotten  what  they  previously  knew  of  these  tongues. 
Their  vocal  organs,  on  account  of  early  practice,  are  better  adapted  to 
make  those  sounds  which  do  not  occur  in  English;  while  words  long 
since  forgotten  readily  come  back  again  to  the  memory,  or  are  at  least 
more  easily  learnt  than  if  they  had  never  been  known. 

The  time  necessary  to  acquire  a  fair  knowledge  of  Urdu,  or  Pun- 
jabi, differs  of  course  with  different  individuals.  One  year's  study  of 
them  is  required  in  our  Mission  before  any  one  is  allowed  to  assume 
any  responsible  work.  But  even  then  a  missionary's  attainments  in 
this  direction  are  generally  very  imperfect.  Some  advocate  a  prepara- 
tory period  of  two  or  even  three  years ;  and  certainly  few  can  become 
really  fluent  or  elegant  extemporaneous  speakers  in  the  language  of 
the  country  before  the  expiration  of  that  length  of  time.  Not  that 
either  of  the  above-mentioned  tongues  is  remarkably  difficult  to  ac- 
quire. Persian  and  French  are  doubtless  easier  to  learn  :  but  Arabic 
and  English  are  harder. 


CHAPTER  X 


MISSIONARY  NEIGHBORS 

Some  Unpleasant  Facts — More  of  a  Different  Character — Aid  in  Evangelism,  Educa- 
tion and  Christian  Conflicts — Intei-Mission  Conferences  and  Organizations — ■ 
The  Presbyterian  Alliance — Presbyterian  Union — Christian  Literature. 

HRISTIAN  neighbors  have  much  to  do  with  the  policy,  the 
comfort  and  the  success  of  any  particular  Mission. 

Providentially  we  have  had  great  reason  for  thankful- 
ness in  this  respect.  Compared  with  previous  decades, 
and  some  other  Missions,  our  relation  to  outside  Christian  workers 
during  the  past  ten  or  twelve  years  has  been  good,  and  continually 
growing  better. 

True,  unfavorable  matters  might  be  mentioned.  Sometimes  a  lack 
of  sympathy  has  been  felt;  sometimes  the  intention  to  ignore  or  reject 
our  co-operation  in  various  forms  of  religious  activity  has  been  mani- 
fest ;  sotnetimes  a  bad  example,  or  erroneous  teaching,  has  tended  to 
thwart  our  efforts  for  good  ;  sometimes  our  methods,  and  especially  our 
aim  to  reach  the  depressed  classes,  have  been  severely  criticised  ;  and 
sometimes  our  territory  has  been  invaded,  our  converts  and  employees 
decoyed  away  from  us,  and  our  work  in  different  places  somewhat  de- 
ranged. 

But,  happily,  we  have  been  kept  to  a  large  extent  from  the  en- 
croachment of  those  denominations  which,  on  account  of  their  peculiar 
views  of  church  polity,  sacramental  grace,  baptismal  forms  or  the 
Spirit's  leading,  reject  the  obligations  of  a  generally  accepted  mission- 
ary comity  and  feel  at  liberty  to  extend  their  borders  wherever  they 
see  fit.  Happily,  too,  there  has  been  a  growing  disposition  on  the 
part  of  adjacent  fellow-laborers  to  co-operate  with  us  and  seek  our  help 
in  matters  of  common  interest. 

Union  in  direct  evangelistic  work  has  not,  indeed,  been  common — • 
just  because  it  is  not  often  practicable ;  but  instances  of  it  might  be 

(89) 


90  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

mentioned  in  bazar  preaching  at  Sialkot  and  Khewra,  in  special  ser- 
vices at  Dliarmsala  during  tlie  summer  of  1886,  in  several  itinerating 
tours,  and  at  melas  (religious  fairs).  Connected  with  this  might  also 
be  mentioned  exchange  of  pulpit  service  by  native  pastors  and  preach- 
ers. 

More  mutual  aid,  perhaps,  has  been  given  one  another  by  different 
religious  bodies  through  their  various  educational  institutions.  Our 
High  Schools  have  trained  boys  of  other  churches ;  and  several  male 
and  female  schools  of  other  denominations  have  been  patronized  by 
our  native  helpers.  The  fruits  of  our  Theological  Seminaries  are  not 
enjoyed  exclusively  by  the  churches  to  which  they  severally  belong; 
while  the  summer  school  for  workers  held  in  1893  at  Sialkot  has  been 
mentioned  as  a  happy  instance  of  mutual  and  profitable  co-operation 
between  the  Scotch  Mission  there  and  ourselves. 

Through  correspondence  and  conferences  of  various  kinds  also  mu- 
tual sympathy  has  been  aroused,  different  views  exchanged,  general 
principles  of  action  evolved,  and  resolutions  adopted,  which  have 
helped  forward  the  common  cause. 

Among  tlie  inter-mission  conferences  which  have  been  held  special 
mention  might  be  made  of  local  religious  meetings,  such  as  the  Sialkot 
Conference  of  May,  1893,  the  Lahore  monthly  Missionary  Conference 
which  was  established  in  1890,  the  Punjab  Ladies'  Missionary  Confer- 
ences of  December,  1882,  and  February,  1888,  the  Liter-Mission  Com- 
mittee on  Popery,  which  met  June  12,  1890,  the  Semi-Centennial 
celebration  of  the  Ludhiana  Mission  in  December,  1884,  and  tlie  great 
Decennial  Conferences  of  Lidia  missionaries  Avhich  were  held  about 
the  close  of  the  years  1882  and  1892.  At  all  these  meetings  our  own 
Mission  had  representatives,  and  at  many  of  them  one  or  more  of  our 
number  read  papers  or  made  addresses. 

More  regular  and  systematic  co-operation  was  secured,  however, 
through  permanent  organizations.  The  Association  of  Female  Workers, 
having  its  centre  at  Mildmay  Park,  London,  frequently  brought 
together  Christian  ladies  of  every  name  in  the  same  station  for  com- 
bined prayer  and  mutual  profit.  A  Provincial  Branch  of  the 
Lidian  Sunday-school  Union  was  organized  at  the  Sunday-school 
Convention  in  Lahore,  December,  1890;  and  through  it  our  Sabbath- 
school  movements  are  kept  in  touch  with  all  work  of  a  similar  kind  in 
the  whole  country.  The  Punjab  Bible  and  Religious  Book  Societies, 
which  for  some  unaccountable  reason  had  previously  admitted  only  two 


THE  PRESBYTERIAN  ALLIANCE  91 

or  three  denominations  into  their  membership  and  management, 
placed  itself  on  a  more  liberal  basis  in  December,  1890,  and  adopted  a 
new  set  of  rules  by  which  workers  in  our  church  were  also  given  the 
right  to  sit  and  vote  in  their  general  meetings,  and  by  which  one  of 
our  number  was  assigned  a  place  on  the  Executive  Committee.  For  a 
longer  time,  too,  we  have  been  associated  with  others  of  like  ecclesi- 
astical polity  in  India  through  what  is  termed  the  Presbyterian  Al- 
liance. 

The  movement  originating  this  began  in  January,  1871,  and  after 
three  preliminary  meetings  reached  a  permanent  form  in  1875,  when  a 
constitution  was  adopted.  The  objects  of  the  Alliance  are  to  promote 
sympathy,  co-operation,  and  a  closer  union  among  Presbyterian 
Churches  in  India — also  to  strengthen  native  congregations  and  make 
them  a  power  for  good.  Five  meetings  of  this  Alliance  have  been 
held:  the  first  in  December,  1877  ;  the  second,  in  1880;  the  third,  in 
1883;  the  fourth,  in  1886;  and  the  fifth,  in  1889.  The  first  three 
were  held  in  Allahabad ;  the  fourth  in  Bombay ;  and  the  fifth  in 
Calcutta. 

Through  this  organization  matters  of  common  interest  have  received 
special  attention  and  the  esprit  de  corps  of  our  division  of  the  great 
Christian  army  strengthened.  Under  the  stimulus  of  action  taken  by 
the  General  Alliance  of  Reformed  Churches,  at  their  London  meeting 
in  1 888,  a  movement  in  favor  of  ecclesiastical  Union  among  the 
Presbyterians  of  India  was  started  in  the  Lahore  Presbytery  of  the 
American  Presbyterian  Church  about  the  beginning  of  the  year  1889 
and  prosecuted  through  a  Committee  of  the  Presbyterian  Alliance 
during  the  next  two  years.  But  difficulties  of  language,  travel  and  ex- 
pense, differences  of  ritual  and  discipline,  dissatisfaction  with  the  basis 
proposed,  the  hitherto  imperfect  development  of  the  native  church  and 
the  foreseen  depressing  effect  of  organic  union  upon  foreign  support, 
soon  led  the  majority  to  feel  that  such  a  union  was  impracticable  and 
undesirable.     Hence  the  effort  to  secure  it  was  abandoned. 

February  27,  1894,  a  meeting  of  the  representatives  of  various 
Presbyteries  was  held  in  Agra  and  resolutions  were  adopted  favoring 
the  ecclesiastical  union  of  all  churches  speaking  the  Hindustani  tongue : 
that  is,  the  churches  of  Northern  India  from  Darjiling  to  the  Punjab; 
but  thus  far  the  movement  does  not  seem  to  have  aroused  much  enthu- 
siasm or  to  have  reached  any  practical  conclusion. 

Whether  the   time  will  ever  come   for  the  formation   of  a  closer 


92  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

alliance  among  the  Presbyterians  of  India  than  that  which  now  exists 
is  questionable.  Local  and  perhaps  Provincial  Unions  of  an  ecclesias- 
tical character  may  eventually  be  effected;  but  as  soon,  almost,  might 
we  expect  the  formation  of  a  Presbyterian  Church  for  all  Asia  as  tor  all 
India.  Diversities  of  language  and  condition  are  of  too  varied  and 
permanent  a  character  to  promise  such  a  consummation  early,  if  ever. 
And  certainly  the  arguments  favorable  to  union  in  India  are  far  less 
powerful  than  those  which  can  be  adduced  for  union  in  America  or 
Great  Britain.* 

But  leaving  this  digression,  we  proceed  to  note  a  more  useful  and 
effective  method  of  past  co-operation,  and  that  is  in  the  department  of 
Christian  literature.  The  production  in  sufficient  quantity  of  suitable 
newspapers,  magazines,  tracts  and  books  for  the  direction  of  mission- 
aries and  the  instruction  and  edification  of  the  native  church,  is  a 
work  so  vast  and  varied  and  so  dependent  upon  a  large  patronage  that 
no  one  ecclesiastical  body  can  accomplish  it  alone.  While,  therefore, 
our  own  laborers  have  contributed  something  to  the  general  cause  in 
this  direction,  as  we  shall  see  in  its  proper  place,  outsiders  have 
returned  the  favor  with  compound  interest.  Such  English  periodicals 
as  the  Bombay  Guardian  (Independent),  Indian  Witness  (Methodist), 
Indian  Standard  (Presbyterian  Alliance),  Indian  S.  S.  Journal  (^.  S. 
Union),  and  Indian  Evangelical  Review  (undenominational),  and 
such  vernacular  publications  as  the  Nur  Afshan  (American  Presby- 
terian), Kaukab-i-Hind  (Methodist)  and  Makhsan-i-Masihi  (American 
Presbyterian),  have  not  only  been  channels  for  the  dissemination  of 
our  own  literary  productions,  but,  being  taken  extensively  by  our 
people,  have  been  to  them  a  constant  means  of  education,  information 
and  stimulus.  The  notes  on  the  International  Series  of  Sabbath- 
School  lessons,  which  have  been  published  at  Allahabad  and  Lucknow, 
have  also  partly  supplied  a  want  among  us  not  hitherto  met  by  our 
own  efforts.  Religious  text  books,  catechisms,  biographies,  works  of 
controversy,  monthly  tracts,  and  Christian  publications  of  every 
description  have  been  to  a  considerable  extent  provided  for  us  by  Reli- 
gious Book  Societies  and  the  more  private  efforts  of  other  ecclesiastical 
bodies,  or  their  individual  members.     Those  translations  of  the  Scrip- 

*  When  native  churches  become  independent,  it  is  probable  that  unions  will  be 
formed,  not  so  much  on  the  basis  of  old  denominational  attachments,  as  on  the  basis 
of  local  propinquity  or  of  causes  more  distmctively  Oriental  than  Occidental  in  their 
character. 


SUMMARY 


93 


tures,  moreover,  which  we  mostly  use,  were  made  by  persons  outside 
of  our  bounds,  and  published  by  societies  of  an  undenominational 
character. 

As  a  summary  then  of  this  whole  section  it  may  be  said  that  our 
ecclesiastical  and  missionary  neighbors  have  been  on  the  whole  highly 
beneficial  to  us  in  our  local  work — partly  by  refraining  from  encroach- 
ment and  interference,  and  partly  by  giving  us  substantial  aid  where 
co-operation  was  needed. 


TAILOR    BIRU. 


CHAPTER  XI 


OUR  SPECIAL  FIELD 

Missions  in  India — Their  Histor)' — Number  of  Laborers — Division  of  the  Land — 
Missionary  Comity — The  Punjab — Missions  Established  There — The  United 
Presbyterian  Field — Its  Growth  and  Size — Points  of  Historical,  Geographical, 
Commercial  and  Scientific  Interest. 

N  account  of  the  special  efforts  wliich  have  been  put  forth  for 
its  evangelization  India  has  been  regarded  as  the  great 
Mission  field  of  modern  times.  Of  the  10,000  or  10,500 
missionaries  now  laboring  in  different  parts  of  the  world, 
more  than  one-fourth  are  located  within  the  borders  of  the  British 
East  Indian  Empire. 

The  first  Protestants  to  enter  this  field  were  Danes,  namely,  Bar- 
tholomew Ziegenbalg  and  Henry  Plutschau,  who  landed  at  Tranque- 
bar  in  1706.  These  were  followed  at  various  periods  during  the 
eighteenth  century  by  forty-seven  others  from  Denmark,  of  whom  the 
most  distinguished  was  Christian  Frederick  Schwartz,  called  sometimes 
the  Apostle  of  India.  These  missionaries  met  with  a  large  degree  of 
success  in  the  southern  part  of  the  country  ;  but  owing  to  tlieir  di- 
minished number  in  the  early  part  of  this  century,  the  mission  was 
finally  abandoned  and  the  fruits  of  its  labor  were  transferred  to  the 
Church  Missionary  Society  and  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the 
Gospel — both  English  Episcopal  organizations.  This  fact  largely  ex- 
plains why  the  latter  bodies  make  such  a  good  display  in  statistical 
tables. 

Of  existing  societies  the  first  to  enter  India  was  the  English  Baptist, 
which,  under  the  leadership  of  John  Thomas  and  William  Carey,  be- 
gan work  in  Bengal  in  the  year  1793,  over  one  hundred  years  ago. 
Other  churches  and  organizations  followed  its  example  :  the  London 
Missionary  Society,  in  1798;  the  American  Board,  in  1813;  the  C. 
M.  S.,  in  1814;  the  S.  P.  G.  and  the  Wesleyan  Missionary  Society, 
(94) 


MISSIONARY  COMITY  95 

in  1817;  the  General  Baptist  Society,  in  1822;  the  Church  of  Scot- 
land, in  1828;  and  so  on,  until  now,  as  can  be  seen  from  the  map 
on  page  97,  at  least  sixty  different  organizations  are  at  work. 

So  large,  however,  is  the  country  (its  area,  including  Burma, 
being  about  1,560,000  square  miles),  and  so  vast  the  population 
(in  1891,  288,159,672  souls),  that  Missions  need  not  in  the  least 
degree  conflict  with  each  other.  Supposing  that  there  are  2200 
foreign  missionaries  actually  on  the  ground,*  900  of  whom  are  or- 
dained, and  that  the  population  at  present  is  about  300,000,000,  then 
there  would  be  one  missionary  to  every  700  square  miles  of  territory 
and  every  136,000  inhabitants,  and  one  ordained  foreign  minister  to 
every  1670  square  miles  of  territory  and  every  334,000  inhabitants. 
Accordingly  Missionary  Associations,  as  a  general  thing,  have  tacitly 
settled  on  such  a  division  of  the  field  (all  but  large  cities)  that  they 
can  each  work  separately.  Cities  of  great  size  are  excepted,  because 
they  are  often  necessary  as  centers  of  operation,  and  also  because  the 
evils  of  interference  with  each  other,  by  overlapping  Missions,  are  in 
such  places  reduced  to  a  minimum. 

It  has  been  a  question  with  some  how  far  missionary  comity  and 
courtesy  should  be  carried  in  limiting  church  extension.  Have  re- 
ligious bodies  the  right  to  establish  Mission  boundaries  between  them- 
selves and  others,  beyond  which  neither  party  can  pass  ?  Is  not  the 
command  to  all  and  each  this:  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world  "?  Ought 
we  not  to  follow  the  leadings  of  the  Spirit?  Should  not  every  mission- 
ary society  labor  in  those  localities  where  she  feels  that  she  can  work 
more  effectively  than  others?  Have  we  a  right  to  sit  still  and  see  wide 
doors  unentered  and  promising  classes  neglected,  just  because  they  are 
found  within  the  limits  of  a  neighbor's  artificially  formed  territory? 
Ought  not  the  liberty  given  various  denominations  in  America  to  be 
extended  to  laborers  in  foreign  Mission  fields  ? 

As  long  as  there  are  different  denominations  of  Christians,  based  on 
other  grounds  of  separation  than  those  of  locality,  no  doubt  it  must  be 
conceded  that,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  they  each  have  the  right 
to  establish  themselves  wherever  they  discover  a  prospect  of  success 
without  violating  the  laws  of  Christian  courtesy;  and  it  must  be  con- 
ceded also  that  in  the  course  of  time  that  policy  which  now  prevails  in 
America  can  properly,  and  will  certainly,  be  pursued  in  missionary 
lands.  But  at  present  the  conditions  of  the  work  in  countries  like 
*  Not  counting  those  who  are  at  home  on  furlough. 


96  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

India  are  such  as  to  demand  a  different  course.  So  long  as  new  con- 
verts are  as  weak  and  as  poorly  established  in  the  faith  as  they  now  are, 
so  long  as  they  can  be  tossed  about,  not  only  with  every  wind  of  doc- 
trine, but  also  with  every  change  of  worldly  prospects,  so  long  as 
denominational  strife  continues  to  be  the  stumbling-block,  and  the 
hindrance,  and  the  scandal  winch  it  now  is  (when  carried  on)  in 
heathen  lands,  so  long  as  the  field  remains  as  large,  the  harvest  as 
great,  and  the  laborers  as  few  as  they  are  at  present,  and  every  hour 
and  every  thought  engaged  in  denominational  struggles  seems  such  a 
waste  of  valuable  force,  every  consideration  of  brotherly  love  and  zeal 
for  the  conversion  of  men  demands  that  Missions  keep  within  well- 
defined  limits  and  see  that  they  do  nothing  to  distract  or  damage  their 
neighbors'  work ;  and  especially  so  when  experience  proves  that  en- 
croachment can  seldom  be  made  without  taking  mean  advantages, 
starting  unseemly  controversies  and  marring  spiritual  life. 

It  is  generally  conceded  that  one  ordained  foreign  missionary,  re- 
siding in  the  head  town  of  a  Civil  District  and  laboring  witliin  its 
bounds,  together  with  several  native  helpers  of  various  grades,  can  hold 
that  District  as  "occupied"  territory.  And  even  a  native  minister, 
acting  as  full  superintendent,  may  take  the  place  of  the  foreigner  with- 
out impairing  this  claim.  The  presence  of  zenana  missionaries  and 
native  zenana  workers,  too,  will  of  course  strengthen  the  claim  very 
materially,  as  will  also  an  increase  in  the  number  of  ordained  ministers 
and  other  laborers.  Less  force  would  be  required  to  hold  one  of  the 
divisions  of  a  District,  called  a  Tahsil,  provided  work  had  been  com- 
menced there  previous  to  the  arrival  in  the  metropolis  of  the  District 
of  a  missionary  force  sufficient,  as  above-described,  to  hold  the  entire 
District. 

That  portion  of  India  which  Providence  gave  our  Mission  as  a 
special  field,  when  it  began  work  there  in  the  year  1855,  lies  in  the 
Punjab. 

The  Punjab  (or  "  land  of  the  five  rivers,"  as  the  name  signifies,)  is  the 
extreme  northwestern  part  of  the  Indian  peninsula.  In  shape  it  may 
be  compared  to  a  great  hour  glass  about  450  miles  high  and  160  miles 
through  the  waist,  lying  on  its  side,  with  its  western  end  slightly  tilted 
up.  Its  area  (including  the  feudatory  States)  is  144,436  miles,  and  its 
population,  according  to  the  census  of  1891,  25,061,956  souls.  That 
is,  the  Punjab  is  a  little  larger  than  Prussia  or  the  combined  territories 
of  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  New  Jersey  and  Delaware,  and  con- 


INDIA    MISSIONS — THEIR     FIELDS    AND    DATES. 


Baptist  (British) 1793 

London 1798 

American  Board 1813 

Church  of  England 1814 

S.  P.  G.  (EngUsh) 1S17 

Wesleyan  (English) 1817 

General  Baptist  (English) 1822 

Church  of  Scotland 1828 

Free  Church  of  Scotland 1828 

American  Presbyterian , 1S34 

Basel  (German) 1834 

American  Baptist 1836 

Free  Baptist  (German) 1836 

Gossner's  (German) 1840 

Leipzig  (German) 1841 

Irish  Presbyterian 1841 

Welsh  Calvinistic  Methodist 1841 

American  Evangelical  Lutheran 1842 

American  Reformed  (Dutch) 1853 

Moravian 1854 

American  United  Presbyterian  1855 

Methodist  Episcopal  of  America 1856 

United  Presbyterian  of  Scotland i860 

Danish  Lutheran i86t 

English  Presbyterian, ,,.,„i--ti. ..!•.. Hit. M  186? 

7 


Hermannsburgh  (German) 

Friends'  Mission 

Indian  Home  Mission 

American  German  Evangelical 

Canadian  Baptist 

Scotch  Episcopal 

Original  Secession  (Scotch) 

Canadian  Presbyterian 

Swedish 

Free  Methodist  (American) 

Disciples  (American) 

Am.  Ref.  Presbyterian — present  move- 
ment   

Strict  Baptist  (English) 

Faith  Mission 

Private  Mission 

Purity  Mission 

Agra  Medical 

Oxford  Brotherhood 

Cambridge 

Salvation  Army 


866 
866 
867 


870 
872 
876 


883 
861 
877 


Besides  these  are  the  Christian  Alliance,  the  A. 
I.  E.  Society,  the  I.  F.  N.  Society,  the  F.  F.  M. 
Association  and  many  organizations  of  ladies. 

t97) 


98  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

tains  a  population  greater  than  that  of  Austria  and  more  than  one-third 
of  that  found  in  the  whole  United  States. 

A  large  part  of  the  surface  of  the  Province  is  covered  by  the  Himal- 
ayan mountains  which,  in  many  irregular  but  more  or  less  parallel 
ranges,  stretch  along  its  northern  and  northeastern  boundary  ;  but  the 
great  body  of  the  country  is  a  gently  sloping  plain,  leading  from  the 
hills  on  the  one  side  to  the  sandy  deserts  on  the  other,  and  varying  in 
height  from  looo,  or  1200,  to  220  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 
This  plain  is  watered  by  five  rivers — the  Sutlej,  the  Beas,  the  Ravi, 
the  Chenab  and  the  Jhelum — from  which  the  Province  is  named,  and 
also  by  the  great  Indus  into  whicli  they  flow,  and  the  Kabul  river 
which  forms  the  latter's  principal  western  branch. 

Politically  the  Province  is  divided  into  two  very  distinct  classes  of 
territory,  first,  that  of  native  feudatory  States,  and  secondly,  that 
which  belongs  directly  to  the  British  Crown  and  is  wholly  governed  by 
its  officers.  The  former  comprises  about  twenty-six  per  cent,  of  the 
area  and  about  seventeen  per  cent,  of  the  population,  and  is  portioned 
out  among  thirty-four  semi-independent  chiefs.  The  latter,  which 
comprises  the  remainder  of  the  territory  and  population,  is  divided  into 
thirty-one  Districts.  Of  the  Native  States,  twenty-three  lie  among  the 
Himalayas,  and  their  Rajput  dynasties  are  among  the  oldest  ruling 
families  in  the  world  ;  ten,  mostly  Sikh,  hold  the  center  of  the  eastern 
plains;  while  Bahawalpur,  a  Muhammadan  State,  occupies  the  south- 
western corner  of  the  Province. 

The  first  Mission  to  enter  the  Punjab  was  the  American  Presbyterian,* 
which  began  work  at  Lndhiana  in  1834,  and,  after  tlie  complete  con- 
quest of  the  Sikhs  and  the  annexation  of  the  Province  by  the  British 
(March,  1849),  immediately  crossed  over  the  Sutlej  and  established 
itself  at  Jalandhar  and  Lahore.  Subsequently  this  Mission  occupied 
also  Amballa,  Rawal  Pindi,  Hoshiarpur,  Firozpur  and  other  places,  and 
by  January  i,  1891,  held  a  field  embracing  more  than  6,000,000 
people. 

Following  the  Presbyterians,  in  185  i,  came  the  Church  Missionary 
Society  (Church  of  England),  which  began  operations  at  Amritsar  (its 
present  chief  center)  and  subseqently  branched  out  into  Kangra,  La- 
hore, Peshawar,  Bannu,  Dera  Ismail  Khan,  Multan,  Muzaffargarh,  Kash- 
mir and  other  places,  comprising  in  its  present  field  over  7,000,000 
souls. 

About  the  close  of  the  year  1S56,  a  missionary  of  the  Church  of 

*  Work  was  begun  in  Delhi  in  1818,  but  that  was  then  outside  of  the  Punjab. 


M/SSWXS  IN   THE   PUNJAB  99 

Scotland  arrived  at  Sialkot  and,  by  the  first  of  January,  1891,  this  de- 
nomination had  taken  up  work  at  Gujrat,  Chamba,  Wazirabad  and 
other  points  to  such  an  extent  that  its  field  might  be  said  now  to  em- 
brace nearly  1,500,000  people. 

Several  other  societies  and  churches  have  also  entered  the  Punjab 
Mission  field,  as  may  be  seen  by  the  map  on  page  97 — namely,  the 
English  Baptist  (at  Delhi  and  Simla),  the  Society  for  the  Propagation 
of  the  Gospel  (at  Delhi),  the  Moravian  (in  Lahul,  Ladakh,  etc.), 
American  Reformed  Presbyterian  (in  Patiala),  the  Cambridge  Mission 
(at  Delhi),  the  American  Methodists,  Plymouth  Brethren  and  perhaps 
others.  But  the  number  of  missionaries  emi)loyed  by  any  one  of  these 
is  not  large,  nor  in  the  aggregate  can  they  be  said  to  have  assumed  the 
responsibility  of  evangelizing  a  population  of  more  than  2,500,000. 

The  American  Associate  Presbyterian  Church,  now  merged  in  the 
United  Presbyterian,  was  tlie  third  to  commence  mission  work  in  the 
Province,  beginning  August  8,  1855.  Its  first  station  was  Sialkot;  but 
it  subsequently  extended  its  boundaries  to  Gujranwala,  Jhelum,  Gur- 
daspur  and  other  points,  until,  at  the  time  of  the  writer's  visiting  it  in 
1880,  its  missionary  claims  extended  over  a  territory  comprising  about 
2,500,000  souls. 

Since  then  various  changes  have  taken  place  through  which  its 
boundaries  have  been  curtailed  in  certain  directions  and  extended  in 
others. 

First  came  the  addition  of  the  District  of  Jhang,  in  the  spring  of 
1884.  Jhang  is  a  District  of  large  size  (5702  square  miles)  but  com- 
paratively limited  population  (436,430  inhabitants),  lying  on  both 
sides  of  the  Chenab  river,  southwest  of  the  District  of  Gujranwala. 
No  railway  as  yet  penetrates  its  borders;  no  cantonment  is  located 
within  it;  its  European  population  consists  of  only  a  kw  families 
clustering  around  the  seat  of  local  government,  between  Jhang 
City  and  Maghiana ;  its  territory  is  largely  desert ;  its  temperature  is 
iiigh  in  tlie  summer,  and  its  atmosphere  very  dry.  For  these  reasons 
an  appointment  for  work  here  is  considered  by  civil  officers  one  of  the 
most  undesirable  in  the  Punjab.  But  it  has  some  prospects  of  better 
irrigation,  increasing  population  and  more  convenient  railways  ;  while 
its  people,  as  others  elsewhere,  are  perishing  from  the  lack  of  the  bread 
of  life.  Hence  its  claims  upon  us  as  a  neighboring  field  for  work 
could  not  be  denied. 

Many  years  ago  our  Mission  made  arrangements  for  a  man  to  go  to 


100 


LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 


Jhang  to  begin  labor  there.  But  liis  departure  was  delayed  a  few 
weeks  ;  and  while  on  his  way  thither  he  heard  that  another  man  had 
been  sent  before  him  to  the  same  District  by  a  neighboring  Mission. 
So,  deeming  further  progress  unnecessary,  he  returned,  and  our  designs 
for  the  occupation  of  the  field  were  for  the  time  abandoned. 

Christian  work  in  the  District,  however,  was  never  manned  by  our 
neighbors  to  such  an  extent  that  their  occupation  of  the  territory,  ac- 
cording to  the  rules  of  missionary  comity,  could  be  considered  estab- 
lished, or  exclusive;  while  from  about  the  year  1880  it  virtually  ceased 
altogether.  Under  tliese  circumstances  a  petition  came  to  our  Pres- 
bytery from  the  most  prominent  native  Christian  of  the  District  pray- 
ing us  to  begin  missionary  labor  there. 
This  petition  received  a  favorable  hear- 
ing and  representatives  were  sent 
thither,  as  well  as  to  Montgomery, 
an  unoccupied  District  contiguous  to 
Jhang  on  the  southeast,  through  which 
our  employees  were  required  to  pass  on 
their  journey  by  rail  to  the  latter  Dis- 
trict. 

About  the  same  time  also  we  entered 
the  Bhera  tahsil*  of  the  Shahpur  Dis- 
trict.    Shahpur  is  a  District  of  medium 
size,    lying   between    Jhelum    on    the 
li^ji^i^  north,  and  Jhang  on  the  south;  while 

Gujranwala  skirts  its  southeastern  bor- 
der.. It  has  a  dense  population,  and  is  more  easily  reached  than  Jhang. 
Of  this  District,  Bhera  is  the  most  eastern,  and  in  some  respects  the 
most  important,  tahsii*  Its  chief  town,  called  also  Bhera,  is  the 
largest  in  the  District  and  contains  about  18,000  inhabitants,  mostly 
Hindus.  The  country  around  it,  moreover,  is  fertile  and  well  culti- 
vated ;  while  a  branch  of  the  Sind  Sagar  Railway,  having  its  terminus  at 
Bhera,  connects  it  with  the  outside  world. 

For  some  time  Shahpur  was  claimed  by  another  Mission  which  had 
established  its  center  in  Find  Dadan  Khan,  one  of  the /a-^^/Zr  of  our 
Jhelum  District ;  but  the  claim  never  was  sealed  by  important  work, 
and  in  Bhera  no  missionary  operations  whatever  had  been  carried  on. 

*  Pronounced  tie-seal.  A  (uhsil  is  one  of  four  or  five  subdivisions  into  which  a 
District  is  divided. 


CHANGES  IN  OUR    OIVN  FIELD  101 

Hence,  as  it  could  be  conveniently  reached  by  our  Jhelum  missionaries 
and  formed  a  good  substitute  for  Find  Dadan  Khan,  work  was  begun 
there  by  our  people  in  the  spring  of  1884,  and  ever  since  has  been 
pushed  forward  with  energy. 

The  next  most  important  change  in  our  field  came  with  the  readjust- 
ment of  boundaries  between  our  Mission  and  that  of  the  Scotch  Es- 
tablished Church.  As  early  as  1861  a  regular  agreement  was  entered 
into  by  the  two  bodies  according  to  which  the  Wazirabad  road  formed 
their  separating  line  in  the  Sialkot  District.  Owing  to  a  resolution 
passed  by  the  Punjab  Missionary  Conference  of  1862-1863,  however, 
which  the  Scotch  considered  a  nullification  of  the  above-mentioned 
compact,  this  dividing  line  ceased  to  be  recognized  by  them  after  the 
lapse  of  two  or  three  years.  From  time  to  time  our  Mission,  which 
took  a  different  view  of  the  question,  objected  to  their  course;  but  it 
was  not  until  work  among  the  depressed  classes  was  taken  up  by  the 
Scotch  also  in  1885  that  the  evils  of  a  ''  no  boundary"  policy  became 
manifest  to  all,  and  unendurable.  It  was  then  seen  by  both  parties 
that  the  rivalry  engendered  under  such  a  system  was  greatly  marring 
the  work  of  the  Lord  and  that  some  kind  of  a  settlement  must  be 
made.  Negotiations  to  this  end  began  early,  but  it  was  not  until  the 
spring  of  1889  that  a  final  agreement  was  reached.  Then  a  new  com- 
pact was  entered  into,  affecting  not  only  the  Sialkot  District,  but  also 
all  our  mutual  claims  to  territory  elsewhere,  except  in  the  direction  of 
Jamu.  By  it  we  surrendered  a  part  of  the  Sialkot  field  which  we  had 
under  the  first  arrangement,  and  also  Dalhousie  in  the  Gurdaspur 
District;  while  a  definite  boundary  line  was  drawn  (about  ten  miles 
distant)  around  Wazirabad  in  the  Gujranwala  District.  The  good  re- 
sults of  a  settlement,  fully  recognized  and  maintained  by  both  parties, 
have  since  been  clearly  shown. 
1  The  same  spring  (1889)  a  boundary  was  established  between  our 
Mission  and  the  Narowal  Mission  of  the  Church  of  England,  which 
had  been  operating  in  the  Raya  tahsil  of  the  Sialkot  District.  For 
various  reasons,  one  of  which  was  encouragement  (at  first)  by  the 
Narowal  missionaries,  our  representatives  began  and  carried  on  work 
in  the  above-mentioned  tahsil  among  the  depressed  classes.  But  when 
this  work  grew  to  large  proportions  strong  opposition  to  it  arose  from 
our  brethren  in  Narowal,  and  at  last  we  accepted  the  proposition  to 
establish  a  boundary  between  the  two  Missions,  over  which  neither 
party  should  pass.     This  arrangement  left  the  Narowal  Mission  in  undis- 


102  LIFE   AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

tiirlied  possession  of  a  considerable  field  in  and  around  that  city,  and 
entailed  a  loss  on  us  of  eight  or  nine  hundred  baptized  converts. 

The  last,  and,  in  some  respects,  most  important  change  affecting  our 
field  came  in  the  year  1891,  when  the  American  Presbyterian  Board 
and  Mission  transferred  to  our  missionary  jurisdiction  the  Rawal  Pindi 
District  and  so  much  of  the  Hazara  District  as  could  be  conveniently 
worked  from  Rawal  Pindi  and  Murree  as  centers. 

Rawal  Pindi  District  is  one  of  the  most  prominent  in  the  Punjab. 
It  covers  a  large  territory,  contained  in  1891  a  population  of  886,164, 
about  70,000  of  whom  are  in  its  capital  town,  is  skirted  on  one  side 
by  the  Jhelum  and  on  the  other  by  the  Indus  river,  is  well  supplied 
Avith  railway  facilities,  comprehends  both  hill  and  plain  country,  pos- 
sesses one  of  the  most  popular  health  resorts  (Murree)  in  North  India, 
forms  the  best  point  of  departure  for  reaching  Kashmir,  is  the  head- 
quarters of  a  Commissioner's  Division,  and  contains  a  cantonment  and 
a  military  garrison  superior  in  size  to  any  other  in  India,  or  (some  say) 
in  the  whole  British  Empire.  Hazara  District  bounds  Rawal  Pindi  on 
the  north  and  much  of  it  is  more  accessible  from  the  latter  as  a  center 
than  from  any  other  mission  point.  It  contained  in  1891  over  515,000 
people. 

This  field  was  first  occupied  by  the  American  Presbyterians  in  1856, 
the  Rev.  J.  H.  Morrison,  D.  D.,  being  its  pioneer  missionary.  Promi- 
nent among  those  who  have  since  labored  there  may  be  mentioned  the 
Revs.  J.  H.  Orbison,  Reese  Thackwell,  David  Herron,  J.  F.  Ullmann 
and  Robert  Morrison.  A  Boys'  High  School,  primary  schools  for 
both  boys  and  girls,  zenana  visitation,  an  organized  church,  street 
preaching,  itineration  and  colportage  represent  the  chief  agencies  and 
means  through  which  they  operated.  By  the  transfer  of  the  station 
to  us  we  received  three  mission  residences,  several  school  buildings,  a 
church,  some  minor  pieces  of  property,  and  an  organized  congregation 
of  twenty- four  members. 

This  change  was  made  because  the  field  could  be  more  conveniently 
worked  by  us  than  by  the  Presbyterians,  and  because  the  latter  wished  to 
concentrate  their  force  and  use  more  of  it  in  important  departments  of 
labor  which  otherwise  would  be  neglected.  It  is  a  happy  instance  of 
that  fraternal  comity  and  co-operation  which  should  always  prevail 
among  the  followers  of  Christ. 

In  summing  up  the  result  of  these  changes  we  find  that  since  1880 
our  Mission  has  increased  in  the  extent  of  its  territory  from  11,000  to 


PLACES   OF  HISTORICAL    LWTEREST  103 

more  tlian  23,000  square  miles  and  in  population  from  about  2,500,000 
to  nearly  4,500,000  souls ;  that  is,  it  is  now  more  than  twice  as  large  as 
Belgium,  about  half  as  large  as  New  York,  and  more  than  half  as  large 
as  Pennsylvania  or  Tennessee  ;  wliile  its  population  is  greater  than  that 
of  Scotland,  Ohio  or  Illinois.  Compared  with  other  Punjab  Missions 
in  these  particulars,  it  ranks  third  (as  before),  but  only  a  little  below 
the  American  Presbyterian,  which  lost  largely  by  the  changes  that 
increased  our  field.  Comparing  its  different  jjarts  with  one  another, 
we  find  its  densest  population  in  the  Gurdaspur  and  Sialkot  Districts* 
and  its  most  sparsely  settled  region  in  West  Gujranwala  and  Jhang.| 

Within  the  limits  of  our  special  field  are  found  many  points  of  his- 
torical, geographical,  commercial  and  scientific  interest. 

Its  chief  rivers  are  referred  to  in  the  Rig  Veda.  Herodotus  and 
Megasthenes  speak  of  the  Indus.  The  Jhelum  is  the  Hydaspes  of  the 
Greek  historian  Arrian  ;  the  Chinab,  the  Acesines  ;  the  Ravi,  the 
Hydraotes;  and  the  Beas,  the  Hyphasis.  Jhelum  City  is  mentioned 
in  the  Mahabharat.  Sialkot  according  to  tradition  was  founded  by 
Raja  Shal,  who  is  named  in  the  poem.  About  the  time  of  Christ  it 
was  the  capital  of  Raja  Risalu,  a  renowned  Punjab  hero  and  the  sub- 
ject of  a  thousand  legends.  Taxi  la  of  the  Rawal  Pindi  District  owes 
its  origin  to  the  Takkas,  a  Scythian  tribe  who  entered  the  country 
about  600  B.  c,  and  at  the  time  of  Alexander's  invasion,  300  years 
later,  was  the  richest  and  the  most  populous  city  between  the  Indus  and 
the  Jhelum.  Rawal  Pindi  itself,  tmder  the  name  of  Gajipur,  was  the 
capital  of  the  Bhatties  in  days  almost  as  ancient;  while  the  Turanian 
Ghakkars,  as  early  perhaps  as  513  B.  c,  began  to  settle  near  Jhelum  and 
laid  the  foundation  of  that  harassing  power  which  so  long  resisted 
Muhammadan  invasion,  and  was  not  thoroughly  crushed  until  the 
year  1S30.  When  Alexander  invaded  the  Punjab  he  crossed  the 
Indus  at  Attock  (or  perhaps  Ohind,  a  few  miles  northeast  of 
that  place,)  and  the  Jhelum  at  Jilalpur,  near  which  he  fouglit  his 
decisive  battle  with  Porus  and  founded  the  memorial  cities  of 
BucephalaJ  and  Nicaea.§  Asarur,  in  West  Gujranwala,  is  another 
place  of  ante-Christian  origin.  It  was  at  first  called  Taki  from  the 
Takkas  who  founded   it ;  and   when   the  celebrated  Chinese  pilgrim, 

*  In  Sialkot  552  to  the  square  mile.  f  In  Jhang  72  to  the  square  mile. 

\  In  honor  of  his  famous  horse  Bucephalus  which  died  there. 

\  In  honor  of  his  victory  over  Porus  and  the  allied  Punjabi  chiefs. 


104 


LIFE   AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 


Hiouen  Thsang,  visited  the  Punjab,  633  a.  d.,  it  was  the  capital  of 
the  whole  country. 

Buddhism,  especially  that  of  Asoka's  reign,  has  left  the  marks  of  its 
ancient  presence  in  the  stupas,  or  topes,  which  are  found  at  Asarur, 
Taxila,  Manikiala,  Rawal  Pindi,  and  other  points. 

Several  cities  are  celebrated  for  their  connection  with  the  different 
Muhammadan   dynasties.       Muhammad   Ghori   placed   a  garrison    at 
Sialkot  about  1154  a.  d.     Bhera  escaped  great  injury  from  Baber  in 
15 19  only  by  paying  a  fine  of  two  lacs  of  rui)ees,   and  was  sacked 
by   Ahmed    Shah's   general,    Nur-ud-din,    in    1757.       The    extensive 
fortress  at  Rotas,  near  Jhelum,  was  built   by  Sher  Shah  in  1540,  to 
overawe  the  Ghakkars.     The  Attock    fort  was  erected  by  Akbar  in 
1579-1583,  and  the  ruined   fortifica- 
tion at  Shekhopura,  in  West  Gujran- 
wala,  by  his  son  Jahangir,  who  lies 
buried  near  Lahore.     Pasrur,  Emin- 
abad  and  Kalanaur  were  all  promi- 
nent places  during  tlie  reign  of  the 
Mughals.     At  Kalanaur,   Akbar  the 
Great,    the    ablest    of    the    Mughal 
emperors,  was  crowned  February  15, 
1556,  and  the  platform  on  wliich  the 
ceremony  took  place  is  still  standing. 
Gurdaspur,  Ramnagar,  Sialkot,  Eminabad,  Jhang,  Chiniot,  Akalgarh, 
and   especially    Gujranwala,    were   also    closely    connected   with    the 
Sikh  rule. 

Gurdaspur  was  founded  by  Banda,  a  Sikh  rebel,  in  the  beginning 
of  the  eighteenth  century.  Sialkot  contains  a  celebrated  shrine  of  Baba 
Nanak,  the  first  Sikh  Guru,  and  a  fine  temple,  with  a  high  spire,  built 
by  Raja  Tej  Singh,  is  seen  for  many  miles  around.  Eminabad  possesses 
a  sacred  Sikh  tank,  and  Chuharkanna  a  sacred  mound — both  memo- 
rable for  their  association  with  the  founder  of  Sikhism.  Gujranwala 
was  not  only  the  birthplace  of  Ranjit  Singh,  "the  Lion  of  the 
Punjab,"  but  also  the  capital  of  both  his  father  and  grandfather,  and 
the  home  of  many  Sikh  chiefs.  Under  a  mausoleum  there,  erected  to 
the  memory  of  Ranjit  Singh's  father,  is  preserved  a  portion  of  the 
ashes  of  the  great  Maharaja  himself.  Ramnagar,  which  was  founded 
by  the  Muhammadans  and  first  called  Rasulnagar,  was  stormed  and 
taken  by  the  same  great  ruler  in  1795  ;  and  near  that  city,  in  1848,  an 


BUDDHIST   TOPES  AND    OTHER   MOUNDS  105 

indecisive  battle  was  fought  between  Sher  Singh  and  the  English 
under  Lord  Gough. 

Intimately  connected  with  British  Rule  also,  may  be  mentioned 
Rawal  Pindi,  Sialkot  and  Jhelum,  wnere  military  garrisons  are  estab- 
lished, and  Murree,  which  was  for  some  time  the  summer  seat  of  the 
Punjab  Government.  Rawal  Pindi,  moreover,  was  the  point  where 
Lord  Dufferin  and  the  Amir  of  Afghanistan  met  in  the  great  durbar 
of  April,  1885  ;  while  Sialkot  and  an  island  in  the  Ravi,  near  Gurdas- 
pur,  are  historically  associated  with  the  Indian  mutiny. 

Of  all  past  dynasties,  too,  remains  are  found  in  the  form  of  ruins, 
coins,  specimens  of  pottery  or  special  memorials.  Reference  has 
already  been  made  to  the  Buddhist  topes.  These  are  monuments  of  a 
peculiar  shape  intended  for  the  preservation  of  sacred  relics — especially 
what  are  called  "the  seven  precious  things:"  namely,  gold,  silver, 
lapis  lazuli,  crystal,  red  pearl,  diamond  and  coral.  Most  of  the 
topes  now  in  existence  are  simply  ruined  mounds. 

And  there  is  a  vast  number  of  other  mounds  also,  accumulated  by 
the  erection,  the  destruction  and  the  re-erection  of  towns,  or  cities, 
and  the  continuation  of  such  processes  from  century  to  century.  Many 
of  these  mounds  have  been  abandoned  for  other  sites  and  now  stand 
solitary,  covered  with  potsherds  and  brickbats — dry,  barren  hillocks, 
dotting  the  Punjab  plains  and  utilized  often  as  Muhammadan  burying 
grounds.  Others  still  underlie  cities  and  raise  them  up  to  a  con- 
spicious  height.  Some  have  been  excavated  and  thus  been  led  to 
yield  up  their  treasure  of  old  coins  and  their  other  memorials  of  past 
ages.  Every  conqueror,  every  dynasty  of  rulers,  and  almost  every 
prince  in  this  way  furnishes  the  evidence  and  the  date  of  his  presence. 
No  source  of  ancient  history  in  the  Punjab  is  so  general,  so  definite 
or  so  connected,  as  the  relics  that  are  thus  exhumed  and  found  for  sale 
in  many  bazars.  The  vast  ruins  of  Rotas,  Attock,  Taxila  and  other 
points,  are  well  worth  a  visit,  too,  simply  on  account  of  their  size, 
their  variety  and  their  architectural  peculiarities.  Those  at  Taxila  are 
said  to  be  the  most  extensive  in  the  Punjab. 

Nor  is  our  field  destitute  of  objects  of  geologic  and  geographic  in- 
terest. Of  these  may  be  mentioned  the  curious  and  picturesque 
features  of  the  Chinab  at  Chiniot,  the  Indus  at  Attock  and  the  Ravi  at 
Madhopur,  as  well  as  the  remarkable  salt  mines  of  the  Jhelum  District 
and  the  notable  hills  of  Jhelum  and  Rawal  Pindi — to  say  nothing  of 


106 


LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 


the  snow-capped  Himalayas  whose  silvery  outlines  form  such  a  striking 
peculiarity  of  our  northern  and  northeastern  outlook. 

Of  peculiar  manufactures  also,  both  native  and  foreign,  our  field 
furnishes  its  due  share.  Sialkot  produces  its  damascene  work,  its  in- 
laid cutlery,  \X.% phulkaries  and  its  paper;  Jhang,  its  inlaid  wood-work 
and  large-checked,  blue-and-white  cloths ;  Bhera,  its  green-handled 
daggers  and  knives  ;  Gujranwala,  its  blankets ;  Dhariwal  its  woolen 
fabrics  ;   and  Sujanpur,  its  sugars. 

But -more  interesting  and  more  important  than  any  of  these  things, 
from  a  missionary  point  of  view,  are  the  people  of  the  country — their 
character  and  their  religion — subjects  which  will  occupy  our  attention 
in  the  next  chapter. 


HlNDLb    KATl.NG. 


CHAPTER  XII 
OUR  SPECIAL  FIELD— ITS  PEOPLE 

Punjabies  and  the  Inhabitants  of  India — Their  Race  and  Physical  Characteristics — 
Their  Occupations,  Village  Life,  Wages,  Clothing  and  Religion — A  Compara- 
tive Census— Modern  Hinduism  Described — Hinduism  in  the  Punjab — Sikhism 
— The  Jains— The  Buddhists— The  Arya  Samaj — The  Parsees— The  Muham- 
madans  and  Muhammadanism — Low-Caste  People — Europeans,  Eurasians  and 
Native  Christians. 

UNJ ABIES,  and,  indeed,  the  great  body  of  the  people  of 
India,  are,  like  ourselves,  Caucasians  of  the  Aryan  or  Indo- 
European  race.      It  is  remarkable  how  many  persons  are 
seen  there  whose  form  and  features  remind  one  of  counter- 
parts whom  he  has  left  behind  him  in  Europe  or  America. 

But  there  is  a  difference  notwithstanding.  In  size  they  are  usually 
smaller  than  Americans  and  in  color  darker.  Their  hair  and  eyes  are 
almost  universally  black,  and  their  complexion  of  every  shade  from 
buff  to  brown — all  made  so  probably  by  the  heat  of  a  tropical  sun  ; 
and  among  the  lower  classes  are  often  found  peculiarities  of  counte- 
nance, and  depth  of  color,  which  plainly  suggest  amalgamation  with 
some  other  race. 

In  many  places,  chiefly  northward,  Pathans,  that  is  Indo-Afghans, 
are  found,  who  claim  to  be  of  Israelitish  descent  and  who,  by  their 
greater  stature,  more  prominent  features  and  fiercer  character,  present 
a  marked  contrast  to  the  rest  of  the  population.  Mongolians  are  seen 
in  the  persons  of  occasional  Chinamen,  and  also  of  Gurkha  soldiers 
from  Nepal,  who  compose  several  regiments  of  the  British  army  ;  while 
Parsees,  who  were  originally  Persians  (as  their  name  indicates),  and 
Abyssinians  are  occasionally  met  with  ;  Europeans  also  (Englishmen, 
Germans  and  others,)  of  course  frequently  appear. 

Climate,  religion,  despotic  government  and  other  causes  have  com- 
bined   to  modify  the  natural  characteristics  of  the  Hindu   people — 

(107) 


108 


LIFE   AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 


diminishing  their  energy,  persistence  of  purpose,  self-poise,  practical 
wisdom  and  general  intellectual  caliber;  while  of  true  historical  in- 
stinct and  capacity  for  original  scientific  investigation  they  possess 
little  or  nothing.  But  they  have  wonderful  (though  unbalanced)  philo- 
sophical, or  metaphysical,  acumen  (or  rather,  imagination),  and  great 
aptitude  for  the  acquisition  of  language ;  while  their  taste  for  music 
and  skill  in  producing  it,  either  with  voice  or  instrument,  is  greater 

than  those  of  some  other 
>''-'/ ^^^^^^^^         -      "  „^^,  Orientals.    As  yet  mod- 

ern education  has  af- 
fected only  a  small  per- 
centage of  their  number ; 
but  the  ability  of  many 
to  acquire  it  is  unques- 
tioned. 

As  to  occupation,  al- 
most all  the  different 
trades  and  professions 
which  characterize  civil- 
ized and  half-civilized 
life  are  represented 
among  them,  and  usually 
these  are  transmitted 
from  generation  to  gen- 
eration through  heredi- 
tary channels;  but  in 
no  department  do  they 
rise  to  the  highest  degree 
of  excellence.  Their 
methods  of  tilling  the 
soil,  preparing  food,  building  a  house  or  manufacturing  garments 
(although  reasonably  efficient)  are  still  primitive  and  slow;  while 
Hindu  art,  of  which  much  has  been  said,  secures  admiration  more 
on  account  of  its  singularity,  or  because  it  is  i)roduced  by  hand  alone, 
than  on  account  of  its  surpassing  merit. 

In  the  Punjab  and  in  India  generally,  as  in  other  Oriental  countries, 
almost  all  the  people  live  huddled  together  in  towns  and  villages, 
many  of  which  are  surrounded  by  walls,  or  are  at  least  virtually  walled 
from  the  custom  of  joining  together  the  outside  circle  of  houses  and 


CARPENTER. 


WAGES  AND    CLOTHING  109 

building  them  without  low  exterior  windows.  This  habit  arose  in 
unsettled  times,  and  under  bad  government,  through  the  fear  of  rob- 
bers and  bandits.  Some  of  these  towns  are  composed  almost  entirely 
of  sun-dried  brick  and  mud  dwellings  ;  others  are  largely  built  of  more 
solid  materials.  Some  are  chiefly  Hindu  towns  ;  others,  principally 
Muhammadan  ;  others  contain  an  equal  proportion  of  the  adherents 
of  each  of  these  faiths  ;  while  near  almost  every  town,  village  or  city, 
but  separated  from  it  by  a  small  alley,  is  a  quarter  set  apart  for  the 
residences  of  low-caste  people,  called  a  taiti. 

Owing  to  the  great  density*  of  the  population,  the  past  ravages 
of  war,  and  other  causes,  wages  are  low  and  poverty  general.  Com- 
mon laborers  (coolies)  get  only  five  or  six  cents  a  day,  and  skilled 
mechanics  little  more  than  twice  as  much.  Hence,  although  families 
club  together  in  a  patriarchal  manner  and  thus  make  the  most  of  what 
they  have,  their  style  of  living  seldom  rises  above  the  bare  necessaries 
of  life,  and  often  does  not  reach  that  point.  Mud  houses  are  more 
general  than  any  other;  clothing  consists  only  of  a  few  cotton  gar- 
ments (cloths),  thrown  around  the  body;  and  coarse  wheaten,  corn  or 
millet  cakes,  with  an  occasional  dish  of  rice,  furnish  the  ordinary 
food  of  the  people.  A  small  percentage  of  the  educated,  especially 
among  those  who  are  Christians  or  who  are  in  government  service, 
aspire  to  the  habits  and  apparel  of  Europeans  ;  but  only  a  (qw,  even  of 
those  who  are  called  rich,  are  disposed,  or  able,  to  carry  this  tendency 
to  any  high  degree,  f 

Ordinary  Punjabi  male  attire  consists  of  the  following  five  articles  : 
first,  a  langoti  or  loin  cloth,  which  is  often  very  small ;  secondly,  a 
dhoti,  or  about  four  yards  of  cotton  muslin  (English  calico),  wound 
around  the  waist  and  covering  both  thighs  and  legs  as  far  as  the  knees, 
or  lower  ;  thirdly,  a  chadar,  or  cotton  muslin  shawl,  two  or  two  and 
a  half  yards  square,  worn  around  the  shoulders  and  over  the  whole 
body  (head  included)  in  sleep ;  and  fourthly,  a  pai^ri,  that  is,  a  turban, 
of  four  yards  of  muslin  or  upwards  wound  around  the  head  ;  lastly, 
slipper-like  shoes  called yW/a;?.  Coolies  often  dispense  with  all  except 
the  first  and  the  last  two  articles  of  apparel.  Some  have  a  woolen 
chadar  in  winter.  Some  add  a  kurta  of  cotton  cloth  to  their  ward- 
robe.    This  is  either  like  a  waistcoat,  or  like  a  European's  shirt  worn 

*  In  1 89 1  the  average  for  all  India  including  Burma  was  185  to  the  square  mile; 
lor  the  Punjab  including  Kashmir,  nearly  174;  for  our  field,  about  187;  for  the  Sial- 
kot  District  alone,  552.  -j-See  also  Chapter  VI,  pp.  65,  66  and  121. 


110  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

outside.  Muhammadans  of  some  means  often  wear  very  wide-legged 
paejamas ;  and  Hindus,  of  like  standing,  paejamas  whose  legs  at  the 
lower  extremity  are  close-fitting  like  tights.  All  truly  native  garments 
are  destitute  of  buttons.     The  use  of  buttons  indicates  progress. 

People  who  are  rich,  and  especially  people  of  high  rank,  add  chogas 
(robe-like  gowns)  and  other  articles  of  dress  to  their  attire  and  make 
their  clothing  of  silk,  gold-cloth  and  other  gorgeous  and  expensive 
materials;  and  in  durbars  they  present  a  striking  appearance. 

Ordinary  female  attire  consists  of  a  chadar  worn  over  the  head  as 
well  as  the  shoulders,  a  kurta,  paejamas  of  a  very  baggy  description, 
but  tight-fitting  at  the  ankles,  3iX\d  Jiitian.  Hindu  women  sometimes 
wear  skirts,  and  a  few  castes  substitute  for  the  kiirta  a  garment  cover- 
ing less  of  the  upper  part  of  the  body  than  that  does.  Jewels  are  worn 
by  all  classes  in  the  nose  and  the  ears,  as  well  as  on  the  head,  the  arms 
and  the  ankles,  and  they  are  made  of  various  materials  ranging  from 
glass  to  pure  gold  aiid  diamonds. 

As  to  religion,  twenty  per  cent,  of  the  whole  population  of  India  are 
Muhammadans  and  seventy-two  per  cent.  Hindus,  or  more  correctly 
seventy-six  and  one-half  per  cent.,  if  we  include  among  the  number 
forest  tribes,  Sikhs  and  Jains.* 

In  the  Punjab,  however,  the  proportion  is  very  different.  Of  these, 
according  to  the  census  of  1881,  Muhammadans  formed  about  .557  of 
the  population;  Hindus  .377;  Sikhs  .059;  Jains,  .002  and  all  others 
.005  ;  and  this  is  doubtless  about  the  present  proportion  of  these  differ- 
ent classes. 

Modern  Hinduism  is  the  resultant  of  beliefs  and  influences  which 
have  been  operating  upon  the  Aryan  race  during  the  past  3000  years 

*The  following  comparative  table  is  taken  from  the  census  of  1891 : 

Hindus,  207,654,407 

Mussalmans,  57,365,204 

Forest  Tribes  (animal  worshipers),  9,302,083 

Buddhists,  7,101,057 

Christians,  2,284,191 

Sikhs,  1,907,836 

Jains,  1,416,109 

Parsees,  89,887 

Jews,  17,180 

Atheists.  Agnostics,  etc.,  289 


Total,      287,138,243 
Unclassified  addition  in  corrected  returns,  1,021,429 

Total,       288,159^2 


MODERN  HINDUISM  111 

or  more.  Theoretically  it  is  pantheistic,  but  practically  polytheistic. 
Accepting  three  original  and  supreme  manifestations  of  the  eternal 
spirit — Brahma,  Vishnu  and  Siva  (the  Tri-murti) — it  has  admitted  into 
its- pantheon  a  multitude  of  gods  either  related  to  them  by  marriage, 
descent  or  service,  or  identified  with  them  through  the  principle  of 
incarnation  or  special  embodiment.  These  are  presented  to  the  eye  in 
the  form  of  idols,  pictures,  persons,  animals,  tombs  or  natural  objects, 
and  are  worshiped  by  prayer,  genuflection,  prostration,  dancmg,  sing- 
ing, bell-ringing,  incense-burning,  gifts  of  flowers,  food  or  clothing, 
water  libation,  animal  sacrifices,  repetition  of  the  divine  name  or 
mantras,  prostitution,  and  in  other  ways.  Hindus  believe  in  the  effi- 
cacy of  charms  and  asceticism,  in  astrology,  exorcism,  necromancy, 
witchcraft,  the  evil  eye,  and  other  forms  of  superstition.  They  also 
believe  in  the  transmigration  of  souls  and  make  salvation  to  consist  in 
their  final  absorption  into  the  Supreme  Brahm,  of  whom  (or  which) 
indeed  they  really  form  a  part.  Brahmans,  their  hereditary  priests,  are 
fed,  worshiped  and  obeyed  as  divine,  and  form  the  highest  of  a  grada- 
tion of  castes  which  are  supposed  to  have  their  origin,  not  only  in 
differences  of  race,  occupation  and  personal  merit,  but  also  in  the  will 
of  God. 

Hindus  of  the  Punjab,  as  a  general  thing,  neglect  the  worship  of  the 
great  gods  and  confine  their  attention  to  local  deities,  or  those  benevo- 
lent and  malevolent  beings  which  are  supposed  to  affect  their  daily 
life;  and  their  acts  of  worship  change  in  frequency  and  earnestness 
according  to  their  own  varying  circumstances  and  necessities.  Brahma 
worship  is  said  to  be  unknown  and  Vaishnavism,*  as  a  sect,  is  confined 
altogether  to  the  Brahmans.  Shivalas,  that  is,  temples  of  Siva,  are 
common,  and  so  are  images  of  Ganesh  (the  elephant  god),  Hanuman 
(the  monkey  god)  and  Krishna  (the  tricky  god).  As  in  other  parts  of 
India,  the  most  numerous  temples  are  those  devoted  to  Siva,  which 
contain  a  combined  linga  and  jiw?/',  with  their  accompanying  image  of 
a  bull — the  gross  and  indecent  symbols  of  the  reproductive  power  of  that 
god;  while  on  the  hills  one  frequently  meets  with  the  iron  trident  of 
the  same  deity  under  his  titleof  Mahaveda.  Shrines  of  Sitala,  the  small- 
pox goddess,  are  located  near  towns  and  villages  ;  and  when  that  terrible 
disease  is  prevalent,  these  are  often  visited  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining 
deliverance  from  its  dreaded  power.  Resort  is  also  had  to  all  sorts  of 
charms  and  superstitions  to  accomplish  the  same  object  or  avert  some 
*  The  worship  and  worshipers  of  Vishnu. 


112  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

Other  evil.  Of  trees,  the  deodar,  pipal  and  banyan  are  worshiped 
more  than  others ;  and  of  animals,  the  cow  species — for  which  there  is 
such  a  veneration  that  Brahminy  bulls  roam  the  country  at  their  own 
free  will,  and  he  who  kills  or  injuries  one,  or  indeed  any  of  his  species, 
is  in  danger  of  losing  his  life.  Snakes  are  also  worshiped  by  some 
tribes. 

Women,  as  a  rule,  are  more  devoted  Hindus  than  men ;  and  in 
family  life,  with  its  events  of  birth,  second  birth,  betrothal,  marriage, 
death,  burial  and  sraddha  (worship  of  ancestors),  we  find  the  most 
persistent  religious  rites.  But  public  festivals,  occurring  at  established 
intervals  in  honor  of  particular  gods,  are  common  and  secure  the  at- 
tendance and  aid  of  both  sexes  and  of  all  classes,  and  do  more  perhaps 
than  anything  else  except  caste  (whose  rules  are  rigidly  observed)  to 
establish  and  perpetuate  the  system  of  which  they  form  a  part. 

Sikhism,  of  whose  adherents  eleven-twelfths  live  in  the  Punjab,  has 
passed  through  several  stages  since  its  rise  400  years  ago. 

Its  first  and  most  distinguished  teacher  {guru),  Baba  Nanak,  like 
Buddha,  revolted  against  the  ceremonial  and  social  restrictions  of 
Hinduism  and  sought  a  compromise  of  religions — especially  of  the 
Muhammadan  and  Hindu  faiths,  in  the  declaration  of  one  God  for 
all  and  in  the  emphasis  which  he  laid  upon  good  deeds  and  quiet  con- 
templation. He  discouraged  caste,  respected  Muhammadan  as  well  as 
Hindu  teachers  and  preached  repentance.  But  he  believed  in  the 
transmigration  of  souls,  in  veneration  of  the  cow,  in  abhorrence  of  the 
hog  and  in  abstinence  from  all  flesh  as  food. 

The  {omt\\  guru,  Ram  Das  (1574  to  1581),  founded  Amri tsar,  which 
became  the  Jerusalem,  or  the  Mecca,  of  Baba  Nanak's  followers  and 
the  seat  of  their  great  temple — the  Golden. 

The  fih\\  guru,  Arjan  (1581  to  1606),  was  a  remarkable  organizer, 
systematized  the  faith  and  practice  of  the  sect  and  gave  it  a  written 
rule  of  faith  in  the  Granth,  whose  veneration  is  its  chief  form  of  idola- 
try.    He  also  exhibited  considerable  taste  for  trade  and  politics. 

Har  Govind,  the  sixth  gum  (1606  to  1645),  was  a  warrior,  changed 
what  was  before  a  religious  sect  into  a  military  society  and  started  a 
policy — the  reverse  in  many  respects  of  that  of  the  founder  of  Sikhism 
— which  was  followed  by  all  his  successors  down  to  the  days  of  British 
rule. 

But  Govind  Singh,  the  last  ^//r«  (1675  to  1708),  modified  the  char- 
acter of  Sikhism  more  than  any  of  his  predecessors.     Following  the 


THE   SIKHS  AND    THE  JAINS  113 

example  of  his  Muhammadan  enemies,  he  made  his  religion  the  basis 
of  political  power;  and,  in  pursuit  of  this  object,  he  abolished  caste, 
instituted  the  Khalsa,  or,  "society  of  the  liberated,"  and  gave  his 
people  outward  signs  of  their  faith — such  as  the  unshorn  hair,  the  short 
drawers,  the  title  Singh  (lion),  the  wearing  of  steel,  and  abstinence 
from  tobacco. 

The  military  and  political  taste  thus  infused  into  Sikhism  and  culti- 
vated by  the  Govinds,  culminated  in  the  remarkable  career  of  Ranjit 
Singh,  who  became  King  of  the  Punjab  and  one  of  the  greatest  rulers 
of  India. 

At  present  the  Sikhs  are  generally  loyal  to  the  British  Government 
and  abstain  from  political  intrigue  ;  but  they  are  a  very  brave  people, 
exhibit  a  fine  physique,  and  make  good  soldiers  and  good  policemen. 
In  point  of  education,  however,  they  are  surpassed  by  some  of  their 
neighbors,  and  in  point  of  religion  they  have  greatly  degenerated. 
Although  willing  to  eat  from  the  hands  of  Mussulmans,  caste  is  as 
strictly  followed  by  them  as  by  Hindus  proper,  and  low-caste  p'eople 
who  adopt  their  faith  (called  Mazhabi  Sikhs)  are  kept  at  a  distance 
and  excluded  from  the  higher  privileges  of  the  community.  Sikhs 
also  reverence  Brahmans,  worship  deities  and  practice  their  idolatrous 
and  superstitious  rites.  In  short,  they  have  substantially  assumed  (or 
resumed)  the  place  of  a  Hindu  caste. 

Much  the  same  may  be  said  of  the  Jains  also,  about  whom  opinion 
is  divided  as  to  whether  they  are  degenerate  Buddhists  or  an  independ- 
ent, and  perhaps  earlier,  sect  of  Hindus,  exhibiting  originally  many 
of  the  same  principles.  True,  these  people  still  hold  doctrines  and 
practices  which  lean  toward  Buddhism  ;  and  their  reverence  for  ani- 
mal life  is  carried  to  such  an  extreme  that  devotees  brush  their  own 
pathway,  strain  their  drinking  water  and  wear  a  cloth  over  their 
mouths  for  fear  they  may  tread  upon,  swallow  or  inhale  some  living 
thing.  They  are,  moreover,  peculiar  in  reverencing  twenty-four  beati- 
fied saints,  chief  of  whom  are  Parasnath  and  Mahavira.  But  they  also 
recognize  the  whole  Hindu  pantheon  as  fit  objects  of  worship,  and 
resemble  Hindus  in  their  family  rites,  their  wedding  and  funeral  cere- 
monies, their  observance  of  caste,  their  reverence  for  the  cow,  their 
fasts  and  their  pilgrimages.  Indeed,  they  call  themselves  "good  Hin- 
dus." Unlike  the  Sikhs,  Punjab  Jains  are  comparatively  well  edu- 
cated and  almost  all  of  them  are  traders  and  live  in  cities.  They  be- 
long also,  as  a  rule,  to  the  Banya  or  the  Bhabra  castes. 


114  LIFE  AND  WORK  IN  INDIA 

Of  Buddhists,  a  very  few  are  found  in  two  hill  Districts  of  the  Pun- 
jab— Lahul  and  Spiti ;  but  even  these  are  greatly  Hinduized  and  can  be 
scarcely  distinguished  from  their  neighbors.  As  Buddhism  every- 
where has  discarded  the  atheism  of  its  founder  and  become  practically 
idolatrous,  so  what  is  left  of  it  in  India  has  in  various  degrees  re-ab- 
sorbed the  doctrines  and  the  practices  of  the  faith  against  which  it  was 
originally  a  protest,  although  in  so  doing  it  has  in  turn  exercised  a  re- 
acting influence  upon  Hinduism  itself. 

Of  the  reforming  Hindu  sects  which  have  lately  arisen  in  India,  the 
Arya  Samaj  is  the  only  one  which  has  made  much  stir  in  the  Punjab. 
This  was  founded  by  Dyananda  Saraswati,  who  died  at  Ajmere  in 
1883,  at  the  age  of  fifty-nine.  As  the  name  suggests,  it  is  distinctively 
Indian,  national  and  anti-foreign  in  its  character.  Hence,  although  it 
recognizes  and  acknowledges  many  of  the  absurdities  of  modern  Hin- 
duism, it  claims  that  these  are  corruptions  of  the  Hindu  faith  which 
have  arisen  in  the  course  of  ages,  through  a  departure  from  the  teach- 
ings of  the  Vedas — books  which  they,  like  other  Hindus,  accept  as  of 
divine  origin,  and  claim  to  hold  in  great  reverence.  Like  the  Brahma 
Samaj  it  rejects  pantlieism  and  polytheism  ;  but  its  theism  is  akin  to 
deism,  lacking  warmth  and  enthusiasm.  It  also  opposes  ceremonial 
religion,  asceticism,  idolatry  and  (theoretically,  but  not  practically) 
caste.  And  more  than  this,  it  rejects  the  doctrine  of  incarnation, 
atonement,  inspiration  and  miraculous  divine  intervention,  chiefly  be- 
cause of  their  affinity  to  Christian  ideas.  On  the  other  hand  it  retains 
a  belief  in  the  doctrine  of  transmigration,  and,  under  the  influence  of 
its  anti-foreign  bias,  claims  that  the  Vedas  are  not  only  the  source  of 
such  Christian  beliefs  as  it  sees  fit  to  approve,  but  also  of  all  modern 
inventions  and  scientific  theories.  Against  the  Bible  and  whatever  is 
distinctive  in  Christianity,  it  takes  a  determined  and  bitter  stand,  and 
by  means  of  public  teaching,  tracts  and  books,  seeks  as  much  as  possible, 
to  propagate  its  tenets  and  obstruct  the  efforts  of  Christians.  Its 
"church"  buildings,  its  meetings  upon  the  Sabbath  when  people 
generally  have  most  leisure,  its  reproduction  in  the  vernacular  of  such 
infidel  objections  to  the  Scriptures  as  have  originated  in  the  West,  and 
its  public  opposition  to  our  bazar  preaching,  form  distinctive  features 
of  Punjab  religious  life.  And  among  educated  young  men  it  has 
great  success,  too.  There  are  many  flourishing  societies  of  Aryas  in 
the  Punjab  and  an  Anglo- Vedic  college,  as  well  as  a  leading  paper 


ARYAS,  PARSEES  AND   MUHAMMAD  A  NS 


115 


called  the  Arya  Patrika,  in  Lahore,  both  of  which  represent  the  inter- 
ests of  this  class  of  Hindus. 

Besides  being  opposed  by  missionaries,  however,  this  sect  has  been 
resisted  by  orthodox  Hindus,  and  very  justly  too,  on  the  ground  that 
it  misrepresents  the  teachings  of  the  Vedas.  A  movement  having  this 
object  in  view  was  started  in  1887,  through  which  several  Sanskrit 
Schools  were  established,  at  least  400  societies  organized,  lecturers 
sent  into  various  parts  of  the 
country,  a  great  convention 
held  at  Delhi  in  November, 
1890,  and  money  raised  to 
found  a  college  in  that  city. 
As  the  result  of  these  efforts 
many  abandoned  the  Samaj 
and  returned  to  their  idols. 

Of  Parsees,  who  are  modern 
Zoroastrians  and  fire  worship- 
ers, very  few  are  found  in  the 
Punjab  ;  but  these  few  are  gen- 
erally prominent  and  wealthy 
merchants.  Bombay  and  Surat 
are  the  chief  centers  of  this  ^;'' 
sect.  Tliey  are  all  descendants 
of  Persians,  who  were  driven 
from  central  Asia  to  India  by 
Muhammadan  persecution,  900 
or  1000  years  ago. 

Another  religious  division  of 
Punjabies  and  in  point  of  num- 
bers the  most  important  of  all, 
is  that  of  Muhammadans.     The  parsee. 

readers  of  this  book  know  that 

Muhammadans  acknowledge  only  one  God,  deny  the  divinity  of  Christ, 
reject  idols,  accept  Muhammad  as  the  last  and  greatest  of  the  prophets, 
claim  the  Koran  to  be  inspired  and  superior  to  all  previous  revelations, 
and  in  earlier  ages  employed  the  sword  to  propagate  their  faith.  They 
entered  India  nearly  1300  years  ago,  and  through  a  succession  of 
dynasties,  the  greatest  of  which  was  the  Mughal,  for  more  than  1000 
years  exercised  imperial  authority  over  a  large  part  of  the  country, 


116  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

and  by  force  or  otherwise  obtained  many  converts  to  their  faith. 
And  now  we  find  that  they  comprise  one-fifth  of  the  whole  population 
of  the  British  East  Indian  Empire,  more  than  one-half  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  Punjab  and  nearly  three-fourths  of  the  people  living  within 
the  limits  of  our  special  Mission  field. 

But  the  Muhammadans  of  India  exhibit  characteristics  different  from 
those  of  their  invading  ancestors  as  well  as  their  coreligionists  else- 
where. This  has  been  caused  partly  by  the  great  addition  once  made 
to  their  number  of  insincere  and  half-assimilated  converts.  Centuries 
of  comparative  inactivity  in  the  presence  of  entrenched  idolatry  also 
have  helped  to  quench  their  fiery  zeal  and  modify  their  peculiar 
traits.  Hence  we  find  that  they  have  become  greatly  Hinduized.  All 
observe  caste  so  far  that  they  will  not  eat  or  smoke  with  any  but  their 
own  brethren.*  All  reverence  tombs,  saints  and  shrines  and  places 
of  pilgrimage.  Almost  all  cherish  heathen  superstitions.  Many  tribes 
of  converted  Mussalmans  retain  and  fee  Brahmans ;  while  some 
actually  employ  them  to  conduct  their  marriages  according  to  the 
Hindu  ceremonial,  only  adding  the  Muhammadan  ritual,  as  a  legal 
precaution. 

Still  Muhammadans  on  the  whole  manifest  great  attachment  to  their 
own  sect  and  are  ready  to  propagate  it  in  every  possible  way.  Their 
three-domed  mosques  {masjids)  f  are  found  in  city,  town  and  village, 
kept  in  good  repair,  and  are  much  frequented  by  zealous  worshipers. 
Their  forms  of  prayer  are  observed  in  public  and  private,  at  appointed 
hours,  by  thousands  of  the  unabashed  faithful.     Their  fasts,  feasts  and 

*  The  remembrance,  too,  of  the  Hindu  castes  from  which  Muhammadan  families 
originally  sprang  is  generally  preserved  by  them  with  pride  and  made  to  influence 
their  social  and  industrial  life — just  as  it  is  also  among  the  Sikhs,  the  Jains  and 
people  of  other  religions — Christians  not  excepted,  I  am  sorry  to  say.  And  the 
course  of  the  government  in  taking  the  census  has  a  tendency,  moreover,  to  perpetu- 
ate this  class  feeling ;  since  it  requires  every  one  in  giving  his  name  to  state  his 
caste,  and  hardly  a  Hindu  caste  can  be  mentioned  which  is  not  represented,  in  the 
reports,  among  the  adherents  of  other  faiths.  For  instance,  of  thirty-three  major 
castes  named  in  the  Sialkot  Gazetteer  of  1883-4,  only  two  are  without  representa- 
tives among  the  Muhammadans,  and  only  six  without  representatives  among  the 
Sikhs ;  while  there  are  five  castes  reported  as  entirely,  and  eight  as  almost  entirely, 
Muhammadan — some  of  them  having  been  added  to  the  general  catalogue  by  Islam 
itself.  Nor  is  anything  said  here  about  the  twenty-two  minor  castes  which  are 
found  in  the  same  Di^tl■ict. 

f  Muhammadan  architecture  in  India  differs  from  that  of  Egypt,  Syria  or  Con- 
stantinople.    See  illustration,  p.  329. 


SKEPTICS  AND   LOW-CASTE   PEOPLE 


117 


holidays,  particularly  the  Ramazan  and  the  Muharram,  are  among  the 
most  notable  features  of  Punjabi  life.  Their  religious  teachers 
{inaulvies  and  others)  are  trained  in  the  Koran  and  ready  to  defend  its 
doctrines  against  all  aggressors.  Their  monastic  and  begging  fakirs 
(of  whom  there  are  said  to  be  seventy-two  different  societies  in  the 
Moslem  world)  furnish  an  army  of  fanatical  and  unscrupulous  zealots, 
prepared  to  advance  their  cause,  secretly  and  openly,  even  by  fraud 
and  bloodshed.  Their  desire  to  get  new  converts  is  equalled  only  by 
their  regret  at  numerical  loss  and  their  hatred  of  those  who  abandon 
their  faith,  or  make  apostates  of  their  followers.  And,  notwithstand- 
ing the  modifying  and  mollifying  influences  of  daily  intercourse,  be- 
tween them  and  other  sects,  especially  between  them  and  Hindus,  a 
slumbering,  implacable 
enmity  exists,  which  re- 
quires only  a  suitable 
occasion  to  reveal  its 
deadly  bitterness. 

It  must  not  be  sup- 
posed, however,  that 
skepticism  and  infidelity 
have  not  made  inroads 
upon  the  Muhammadan 
or  the  Hindu  ranks.  As 
the  result  of  secular  edu- 
cation and  the  reading 
of  anti-Christian  En- 
glish books,  many  pupils 
have  lost  faitli  in  their 
ancestral  religion,  with- 
out becoming  Christians,  and  are  tossed  upon  the  sea  of  doubt  or  agnos- 
ticism. True  only  289  report  themselves  as  such  in  the  census,  and 
perhaps  most  of  these  are  Europeans;  but  many  others,  while  nomi- 
nally attached  to  the  old  systems,  are  really  infidels. 

Besides  the  divisions  described,  another  remains,  deriving  its  chief 
importance  to  us  from  the  fact  that  hitherto  it  has  furnished  the  great- 
est number  of  Christian  converts.  This  is  what  is  usually  called  the 
low-caste  or  outcaste  people,  and  sometimes  the  "  depressed  classes." 
In  census  statistics  they  get  the  title  of  Chuhras  (sweepers,  scavengers), 
Megs  (weavers),  Mochies  (shoemakers),  Chamars  (tanners  and  work- 


ATTITUDES   OF   MOSLEMS   IN    PRAYER. 


118  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

ers  in  leather),  Doms  (handlers  of  carcases),  Teli  (oilmen),  Sansies 
(gypsies),  and  so  on,  being  reckoned  as  castes  under  these  names,  al- 
though outside  of  the  pale  of  real  Hinduism.  It  is  probable  that  they 
represent  what  is  left  of  the  aborigines  of  the  country,  reinforced  from 
time  to  time  by  the  addition  of  persons  who,  for  some  reason,  lost  caste 
and  were  excluded  from  the  so-called  higher  classes. 

These  people  hold  a  degraded  position  in  the  eyes  of  both  ISIussal- 
mans  and  Hindus  and  are  almost  destitute  of  social,  political  and  legal 
rights.  And  it  must  be  admitted  that  they  are  generally  of  darker 
color,  weaker  intellect  and  less  energetic  nature  than  those  who  despise 
them.  This  is  especially  true  of  the  Chuhras,  who  remove  night  soil, 
eat  carrion  aud  the  leavings  of  the  people,  and,  in  villages,  occupy  a 
relation  to  farmers  somewhat  similar  to  that  of  serfs. 

Religiously  considered,  the  mass  of  these  people  cling  more  or  less 
to  one  or  another  of  the  great  faiths  of  the  country,  without  being  fully 
admitted  to  their  communion.  About  three-fourths  are  thus  attached 
to  Hinduism,  three-sixteenths  to  Muhammadanism  and  one-sixteenth 
to  Sikhism.  But  remnants  of  a  peculiar  and  perhaps  primitive  faith 
are  found  among  the  majority  of  low-caste  people,  and  in  many  cases 
this  is  the  predominant  element  of  their  religious  belief.  The  Chamars, 
for  instance,  do  not  believe  in  transmigration  of  souls,  but  think  that 
the  good  go  direct  to  heaven  and  the  bad  to  hell.  The  Sansies  vener- 
ate a  mythical  teacher  {giini)  named  Sans  Mai,  whom  they  hold  to  be 
the  founder  of  their  sect.  The  Chuhras  worship  "  one  supreme  deity, 
without  form  or  habitation,  and  believe  that  the  good  go  to  heaven  as 
soon  as  they  die,  while  the  bad  pass  into  punishment,  but  for  a  while 
only.  They  worship  and  make  offerings  of  fowls  and  the  like  at  a 
small  earthen  shrine  with  a  flag  above  it,  which  is  dedicated  to  Lai 
Beg  or  Bala  Shah,  the  high  priest  of  the  caste.  They  also  invariably 
bury  their  dead  and  that  mouth  downward  "  * — for  fear  that  the  dis- 
embodied spirit  might  become  a  troublesome  ghost. 

One  curious  semi-idolatrous  custom  of  the  Chuhras  is  noticed  by 
almost  every  one  who  has  lived  any  time  in  the  Punjab.  It  is  that  of 
Gugga  gana,  or  singing  Gugga.  Its  origin  and  character  are  thus  de- 
scribed :  f  "It  seems  that  once  upon  a  time  there  was  a  king  who  had 
three  sons.     One  of  these  sons,  named  Gugga,  killed  his  two  brothers, 

*Ibbetson. 

f  By  the  Rev.  C.  B.  Newton,  D.  D.,  in  the  "  Lodiana  Mission  Report  "  for  1893, 
pp.  18,  19. 


LOW-CASTES    AND    CHRISTIANS  119 

and  when  reproached  by  his  mother  for  this  very  unfraternal  proceed- 
ing committed  suicide  in  a  pet  by  riding  into  a  quicksand  which 
swallowed  up  prince  and  horse.  It  is  a  custom  with  the  Chuhras  to 
celebrate  his  death  by  setting  up  a  pole  once  a  year  with  a  flag  on  it 
and  singing  songs  in  his  praise.  The  higher  castes  in  the  villages 
assemble  around  the  flag-staff,  listen  to  the  music  and  present  offerings 
of  money  and  grain,  which  the  singeis  appropriate." 

Notwithstanding  these  superstitious  observances,  Mr.  Denzil  Ibbet- 
son,  a  member  of  the  India  civil  service  and  a  close  observer  with  large 
opportunities  for  information,  declares  that  the  doctrine  of  the  religion 
of  the  Chuhras  "resembles  Christianity  more  nearly  than  anything 
else  we  have  in  India." 

In  the  case  of  many  (perhaps  most)  of  these  people,  however,  it 
might  be  properly  said  that  they  have  no  religion  whatever.  Their 
minds  present  a  blank  upon  this  subject,  or  perhaps  I  should  say  as 
nearly  a  blank  as  those  of  any  tribe  on  earth. 

Heretofore  low-caste  persons  have  numbered  one-eighth  of  the  pop- 
ulation of  the  Punjab  ;  but,  on  account  of  their  present  restlessness 
and  upward  aspirations,  they  are  rapidly  losing  many  of  their  peculiar 
traits — social,  industrial  and  religious — and  becoming  assimilated  to, 
or  absorbed  by,  the  higher  classes. 

Of  nominal  Christians  in  the  Punjab  little  need  be  said,  as  they  are 
few  in  number.     They  comprise  Europeans,  Eurasians  and  Natives.* 

Of  Europeans  we  have  civil  and  military  officers,  soldiers,  mission- 
aries, railway  employees,  tea  planters,  business  men  and  laborers  of 
every  grade.  Those  who  were  outside  of  the  civil  and  military  service 
in  1891  number  6,145,  of  whom  2,887  were  females.  With  some  ex- 
ceptions the  condition  of  this  class  is  not  promising.  Efforts  indeed, 
have  been  made  to  better  the  circumstances  and  prospects  of  what  is 
sometimes  called  the  "British  Colony  in  India."  But  with  wages  so 
low,  native  competition  so  general  and  persistent,  and  the  difference 
between  foreign  and  native  styles  of  living  so  great,  such  efforts  appear 
to  be  almost  hopeless.  Nor  are  the  religious  conditions  under  which 
they  live  any  more  promising.     Chaplains  often  neglect  them ;  church 

*The  census  of  1891  gives  the  following  numbers: 

1.  Total  Christians,  including  Europeans  and  Roman  Catholics,  57. 125 

2.  Protestant  Native  Christians,  20,729 

3.  Proportion  of  all  Christians  to  population,  .002 

4.  Proportion  of  Protestant  Native  Christians  to  population,  .0008 


120  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

people  often  repel,  rather  than  attract,  them  ;  native  Christians  have 
no  influence  over  them  ;  missionaries  often  consider  them  beyond  the 
limits  of  their  peculiar  commission.  Woe  to  the  white  people  (es- 
pecially those  of  education  and  refinement)  who  on  account  of  pecu- 
niary misfortunes  are  compelled  to  remain  and  bring  up  their  families 
in  that  country  !  To  such  it  is  a  poverty-stricken  land  and  a  moral 
pest  house. 

Of  Eurasians,  that  is,  persons  of  mixed  European  and  Asiatic  blood, 
there  were  2 191  in  the  Punjab  at  the  time  when  the  last  census  was 
taken.  These,  while  they  have  the  rights,  labor  also  under  many  of 
the  disadvantages,  of  their  whiter  brethren,  and  find  it  hard  to  com- 
pete with  pure  natives  in  the  race  for  a  decent  livelihood,  social  ad- 
vancement and  more  elevated  character. 

Of  native  Christians,  only  a  chance  one  is  found  not  directly  con- 
nected, either  as  worker  or  member,  with  some  missionary  movement; 
that  is,  very  few  are  nominally  Christian  and  yet  so  far  outside  the  pale 
of  Protestant  communion  that,  like  members  of  a  corrupt  Christian 
sect,  they  form  the  subjects  of  special  missionary  effort. 

A  close  observer  can  usually  distinguish  all  the  various  classes  of 
Punjabi  people  which  have  been  described,  by  their  dress,  their  habits, 
their  names  and  their  general  appearance.  The  Sikh  costume  and 
other  peculiarities  have  already  been  mentioned.  Hindu  men  wear 
an  undipped  mustache,  a  crown  scalplock  of  hair,  closely  drawn  cover- 
ing for  their  limbs,  the  high-caste  thread  (if  among  the  "  twice  born  "), 
upper  garments  parted  on  the  right  side  or  thrown  over  the  left 
shoulder,  and  sometimes  a  tika  (devotional  sign)  upon  their  foreheads, 
made  with  red,  yellow  and  white  pigment,  which  varies  according  to 
the  character  of  their  favorite  god.*  They  also  clean  their  teeth  with 
the  finger  next  the  little  one.  Muhammadans  wear  a  clipped  mustache, 
clothing  of  more  sombre  tints,  garments  parted  on  the  left  side  or 
thrown  over  the  right  shoulder,  more  flowing  apparel  below  the  hips, 
and  sometimes  a  side  scalplock  of  hair,  or  hair  dyed  red  in  imitation  of 
Muhammad's;  and,  in  cleaning  their  teeth,  they  use  the  forefinger. 
Parsees  and  cultured  Christians,  as  well  as  Eurasians,  dress  more  like 
Europeans ;  but  the  first  mentioned  often  wear  a  peculiar  hat  which  is 
shown  in  a  preceding  picture.     Hindus  have  names  drawn  from  the 

*  The  mark  of  the  Vaishnavas  consists  of  two  perpendicular  strokes  meeting  below 
in  a  curve,  denoting  the  footprints  of  Vishnu  ;  that  of  Saivas  consists  of  three  hori- 
zontal lines,  made  with  white  or  gray  ashes. 


CLASSES   COMPARED  121 

Sanskrit  tongue  and  Hindu  mythology ;  Moslems,  from  the  Arabic 
tongue  and  in  memory  of  ancient  Muhammadan  worthies  ;  while  native 
Christians  frequently  abandon  names,  reflecting  their  old  faith,  and 
assume  those  that  are  Biblical  or  European.  Hindu  women  incline 
more  to  the  use  of  skirts  than  Muhammadan  women  ;  but  in  the  Pun- 
jab both  classes  frequently  wear  a  loose  kind  of  drawers,  called  pae- 
jamas.  The  biirka  (a  long,  bag-like,  heavy,  white  veil  covering  the 
whole  person,)  is  used  by  both  Hindu  and  Muhammadan  ladies  of  a 
certain  grade  when  they  appear  in  public* 

It  has  already  been  noted  that  nearly  three-fourths  of  the  people 
within  our  special  field,  say  seventy-one  per  cent.,  are  Muhamma- 
dans  proper.  Perhaps  twenty  per  cent,  are  Hindus  proper;  four  per 
cent.  Sikhs ;  four  per  cent,  low-caste ;  and  the  remainder  (one  per 
cent.)  of  other  religions.  The  Muhammadans  are  everywhere  more 
numerous  than  the  Hindus  ;  but  they  predominate  most  largely  in  our 
northwestern  districts.  They  are  almost  all,  too,  of  the  Sunni,  or 
orthodox  sect.  A  few  Shiahs  are  found  here  and  there,  particularly  in 
Jhang  and  Jhelum  ;  and  in  the  last-named  District  we  meet  with  Wa- 
habies  also.  Sikhs  are  common  in  Gurdaspur,  Sialkot  and  especially 
Gujranwala,  which  is  one  of  their  historical  centers.  These  three 
Districts  also  contain  most  of  our  low-caste  population. 

The  comparative  standing  of  the  different  religious  communities  in 
point  of  education  can  be  approximately  inferred  from  the  number  of 
candidates  reported  in  the  Punjab  University  examinations  of  March, 
1891.  Of  a  total  of  1175  persons,  making  their  appearance  in  these 
examinations,  737  were  Hindus;  310  Muhammadans;  104  Sikhs; 
and  24  Christians — that  is,  about  one  to  every  45,000  Muhammadans; 
one  to  every  14,500  Sikhs;  one  to  every  13,000  Hindus;  and  one  to 
every  1500  or  1600  Christians.  The  returns  from  Madras  (for  1890- 
91)  indicate  that  in  the  eleven  first  and  second-grade  mission  colleges 
of  the  Presidency  there  were  1242  students  enrolled,  of  whom  6  were 
Europeans;  137  Christians ;  13  Muhammadans;  776Brahmans;  304 
non-Brahman  Hindus  ;  and  6  others — while  the  whole  population  of  the 
Presidency  ranged  as  follows:  3.6  per  cent.  Brahmans ;  2.2  per  cent. 
Christians;  87.8  per  cent.  Hindus;  and  6.4  per  cent.  Muhammadans; 
that  is,  the  comparative  eagerness  of  these  various  classes  to  secure 
higher  education  may  be  represented  by  the  following  numbers : 
Brahmans  215  ;  non-Brahman  Hindus  3.5  ;  Christians  65  ;  Muhamma- 
*  See  pp.  65,  66  and  109. 


122  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

dans  2  ;  others  30.  In  schools  of  all  grades  in  India  there  were,  ac- 
cording to  the  census  of  1891,  3,682,707  pupils;  of  whom  2,512,916 
were  Hindus;  836,389  Muhammadans;  25,568  Europeans  and  Eura- 
sians ;  86,314  Native  Christians  ;  and  221,520  miscellaneous.  That  is, 
one  in  every  82  of  the  Hindus,  one  in  every  68  of  the  Muhammadans, 
one  in  every  20  of  the  Christians,  and  one  in  every  90  of  other  classes 
were  attending  school.  In  higher  education,  therefore,  we  find  Brah- 
mans  taking  the  lead  by  a  long  distance,  and  Christians  well  advanced  ; 
while  Muhammadans  take  the  lowest  place.  In  lower  education 
Christians  stand  first ;  Muhammadans  next  ;  Hindus  next,  and  all 
others,  taken  together,  last.  The  Christians  reported  of  course  em- 
brace all  classes  of  that  name,  Roman  Catholics  and  Syrians  as  well  as 
Protestants. 

As  to  morals  and  manners  Punjabies  exhibit  the  characteristics  which 
might  be  expected  from  the  religion  that  they  profess  and  the  circum- 
stances in  which  they  have  been  placed. 

Some  good  traits  may  be  observed. 

Hindus  have  been  called  "  the  cleanest  people  in  the  world."  Tliey 
bathe  every  day.  It  is  a  part  of  their  religion.  Muhammadans  also 
wash  before  meals  and  prayers.  And  even  coolies  keep  their  teeth 
beautifully  white  by  frequent  cleansing.  But  the  water  in  bathing 
tanks  is  often  foul,  and  as  for  the  clothing  of  the  majority  of  the 
people,  it  is  generally  in  a  soiled,  and  sometimes  in  a  filthy,  condition. 

Up  to  the  present  time  natives  of  India  are  generally  a  temperate 
people.  The  use  of  strong  drink  is  forbidden  both  by  the  Koran  of 
the  Mussalmans  and  the  caste  rules  of  Hinduism.  And  very  seldom 
do  we  find  men  drunk — far  less  frequently  than  in  so-called  Christian 
countries.  Sometimes  evidence  of  the  use  of  opium,  bhang  or  ganga 
(liquors  from  the  hemp  plant),  ox  arq  (distilled  spirits)  is  observed; 
but  the  frequent  use  of  intoxicants,  as  a  beverage  is  a  western  vice, 
brought  in  by  Europeans,  and  as  yet  has  advanced  beyond  the  ranks 
of  its  importers  only  to  a  very  limited  (although  constantly  increasing) 
extent.  Even  the  use  of  tobacco  is  discarded  by  the  Sikhs  and 
others. 

The  Punjabies  are  also  a  very  polite  people — polite  according  to 
their  notions  of  politeness.  True,  their  inquisitiveness  and  ignorance 
of  English  manners  often  lead  them  to  say  and  do  things  contrary  to 
our  notions  of  good  taste.  But  in  their  own  way  they  are  respectful 
to  equals  and  superiors  and  observant  of  those  forms  of  urbanity  which 


GOOD    TRAirS    OF   THE  PUNJAB lES  123 

in  the  East  are  recognized  as  becoming.     This  leads  them,  as  a  rule, 
to   reverence  the  aged  of    either  sex  and  submit  to  their  authority. 

More  than  this,  they  are  on  the  whole  a  mild  and  gentle  people — 
gentle  even  to  the  lower  animals.  Hindus  get  this  trait  partly  from 
their  religious  beliefs  and  partly  from  their  absorption  of  Buddhistic 
sentiments.  But  even  Muhammadans  (if  we  except  Pathans  and 
border  tribes)  have  acquired  something  of  the  same  spirit  from  their 
association  with  the  Hindus.  True,  this  characteristic  is  not  universal, 
or  uniformly  exercised,  and  in  times  of  fanatical  uprising  disappears 
altogether  ;  but,  compared  with  the  peculiarities  of  other  peoples,  it 
may  be  termed  a  national  characteristic. 

The  Punjabies  are  also  an  industrious  and  frugal  race.  Although 
Orientals  are  generally  poor,  they  cannot  properly  be  called  lazy; 
much  less  can  they  be  charged  with  a  spirit  of  prodigality.  They 
work  as  vigorously  as  the  climate  of  their  country  justifies  them  in 
doing,  and  as  constantly  as  their  opportunities  allow;  while  those 
who  have  more  money  than  is  required  to  get  the  necessaries  of  life 
are  as  much  inclined  to  parsimony  as  to  the  opposite  extreme. 

In  addition  to  this  Hindus  i^roper  are  at  present  tolerant  of  other 
religions,  while  Muhammadans  refrain  from  oppressing  the  poor  by 
excessive  usury,  or  indeed  by  any  usury  at  all.     The  Koran  forbids  it. 

Another  excellence,  which  springs  from  their  patriarchal  mode  of 
living,  is  the  provision  thus  made  by  Punjabies  for  the  support  of  the 
unemployed  and  the  destitute,  without  making  them  a  public  charge. 
As  long  as  any  member  of  a  household  has  money  he  shares  it  with  his 
companions  through  the  common  treasury.  There  are  no  poorh'''Uses 
in  India.  And  even  ordinary  beggars  fare  about  as  well  as  other 
people — some  of  them,  indeed,  better  than  the  average.  To  those 
who  ask  alms  in  the  name  of  God  it  is  considered  a  duty  to  give;  and 
a  curse  is  feared  in  case  of  refusal. 

But  the  other  side  of  the  picture  is  a  very  dark  one. 

One  of  the  vernacular  papers,  the  Oudh  Akhbar,  in  giving  a  view  of 
the  character  of  Anglo-Indians  (Europeans),  incidentally  refers  in  the 
way  of  contrast  to  some  of  the  minor  sins  of  its  countrymen.  As 
quoted  in  the  Civil  and  Military  Gazette  of  Lahore,  it  says : 

"The  European  is  always  a  strict  adherent  to  his  promise — a  quality 
the  entire  absence  of  which  among  our  countrymen  is  bitterly  de- 
plored. As  a  rule,  the  Indians  always  reckon  their  neighbor's  smart- 
ness of  faculty  by  the  amount  of  deception  and  unfaithfulness  he 


124  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

displays  towards  his  friends  and  confederates,  and  the  more  deceptive 
a  man,  the  more  he  is  admired  and  esteemed  by  our  countrymen, 
which  is  quite  contrary  to  the  rules  of  humanity.  Again,  Europeans 
never  resort  to  oaths  in  the  course  of  conversation,  while  our  country- 
men, whether  Hindu  or  Muhammadan,  scarcely  ever  speak  a  word 
without  taking  a  long  oath,  lest  they  should  be  disbelieved  by  their 
hearers.  The  custom  of  impressing  the  veracity  of  your  words  by 
means  of  oaths  is,  to  say  the  least  of  it,  despicable.  Again,  Europeans 
are  very  punctual,  while  there  is  an  extreme  lack  of  punctuality 
among  our  countrymen.  Again,  Europeans  never  go  complaining 
of  their  friends  and  acquaintances,  as  the  Indians  do.  In  the  event 
of  a  misunderstanding  between  friends,  the  European  will  never  make 
it  a  matter  of  complaint  or  scandal,  and  will  never  go  expounding  his 
grievances  before  all  with  whom  he  comes  in  contact.  The  Indians, 
on  the  contrary,  love  to  tell  tales  about  their  friends  behind  their  back. 
They  seldom  or  never  have  the  courage  to'tell  a  person  his  faults  to  his 
face,  but  will  run  the  unfortunate  man  to  eartli  before  all  his  friends 
in  his  absence.  In  his  presence,  however,  they  will  appear  very 
pleasing  and  even  go  to  the  extent  of  flattering  him.  Again,  Euro- 
peans are  never  known  to  be  dilatory  in  the  performance  of  their 
duties,  while  our  Indian  brothers  seldom  think  of  their  duty,  and, 
when  they  do  think  of  it,  it  is  conveniently  forgotten,  or  put  off"  to  the 
last  moment." 

Heartily  can  we  wish,  with  the  C.  c^  M.  Gazette,  that  "one-half  of 
the  above,  so  far  as  it  relates  to  Europeans,  was  as  universally  true,  as 
the  writer  evidently  believes."  Certainly  Anglo-Indian  society  is  not 
what  it  should  be,  and  by  its  character  argues  weakly  in  favor  of 
Christianity.  Besides  occasional  instances  of  bribery,  dishonesty,  in- 
justice and  political  corruption,  there  is  a  vast  amount  of  pride,  im- 
morality, unseemly  strife,  intemperance  and  dishonorable  ambition 
among  English  officials  and  their  families  ;  and,  as  for  British  soldiers, 
the  less  said  about  their  virtue  and  their  freedom  from  profanity  the 
better.  Indeed,  only  a  short  time  ago,  a  writer  in  the  St.  Stephen's 
Review,  as  quoted  by  the  same  Lahore  paper,  said  that,  "  in  point  of 
morals,  Anglo-Indian  society  is  worse  than  any  civilized  nation.  It  is 
utterly  corrupt.  Good  men  and  true  women  are  the  exception  and 
not  the  rule."  And  such  is  the  impression  which  one  gets  from  read- 
ing Rudyard  Kipling's  stories. 

No   doubt   Rudyard   Kipling  and   the  St,  Stephen's  Review  make 


A  Fakir. 
Sweeper  Children. 


TYPES    OF    PUNJABIES. 
A  Frequent  Sight. 

Musicians. 
A  VenJer  of  Sweets. 


Lowly  People. 
A  Bihishti. 


MORALS   OF   THE   PEOPLE  125 

highly  exaggerated  representations  of  the  wickedness  of  Anglo-Indian 
society.  But,  granting  the  worst  that  can  be  properly  said  in  regard 
to  it,  there  is  as  little  doubt  that  the  Ondh  Akhbar  was  right  in  con- 
trasting it  favorably  with  the  morals  of  Hindu  and  Muhammadan  so- 
ciety. 

That  paper  did  well  to  speak  of  the  deception  and  the  falsehood  of 
native  East  Indians,  and  their  unfaithfulness  to  promises.  Violation 
of  the  ninth  commandment  is  well  nigh  universal.  The  atmosphere 
of  the  whole  country  is  full  of  deceit.  We  find  it  among  household 
servants,  in  the  bazar,  in  the  civil  courts,  in  the  palaces  of  native 
princes.  It  is  said  that  one-half  the  prisoners  of  the  jails  are  held  in 
duress  through  false  charges.  For  a  few  annas  almost  any  amount  of 
untruthful  testimony  can  be  purchased.  No  one  takes  any  account  of 
lying. 

And  just  as  much  can  be  affirmed  of  their  violation  of  the  seventh 
commandment.  Virtue  is  considered  of  little  worth  by  either  men  or 
women.  Only  when  it's  loss  affects  a  parent's  prospects,  or  a  hus- 
band's rights,  does  it  seem  to  have  any  value  ;  and  often  not  then. 
And  this  state  of  feeling  is  grounded  in,  and  to  a  large  extent  sanc- 
tioned by,  the  religions  of  the  country.  Not  only  were  Muhammad 
and  his  most  renowned  successors  polygamists,  and  one  of  the  most 
popular  Hindu  gods  licentious,  but  polyandry  is  legalized  by  Hindu- 
ism, and  polygamy  by  both  faiths.  Hinduism  also  recognizes  eight 
different  kinds  of  marriage,  some  of  which  are  no  better  than  free 
love,  condemns  even  child  widows  to  perpetual  celibacy,  approves  of 
sacred  prostitution,  and  sanctions  the  worship  of  the  sakti  principle, 
with  all  its  disgusting  orgies ;  while  Muhammadan  ism  legalizes  concu- 
binage, gives  to  men  almost  unlimited  freedom  of  divorce,  and  prac- 
tically retains  in  fair  standing  those  who  are  professional  strumpets. 
No  wonder  therefore  that  great  laxity  of  morals  prevails  everywhere, 
and  that  Paul's  arraignment  of  heathenism,  in  Rom.  i  :  21-32,  proves 
to  be  literally  true  in  modern  India. 

Akin  to  this  trait  is  the  low  estimate  placed  upon  woman  in  that 
country,  and  the  degraded  and  subordinate  position  in  which  she  is 
found. 

Although  not  excluded  from  the  hope  of  Paradise,  and  often  treated 
with  honor  and  affection,  Muhammadan  women  are,  by  their  law,  so 
restricted  in  their  religious  and  social  privileges,  so  subject  to  the  arbi- 
trary will  of  their  husbands  or  fathers,  and  so  deprived  of  the  power 


126 


LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 


of  redress,  as  to  make  their  condition  in  many  cases  little  better  than 
that  of  slaves. 

The  spirit  and  the  teachings  of  Hinduism,  too,  are  equally  degrad- 
ing. Even  in  the  evolution  of  the  universe,  according  to  Hindu 
philosophy,  there  is  a  subordination  of  the  female  (Prakriti)  to  the 
male  (Purusha)  principle;  and  in  the  evolution  of  salvation,  as  a 
Hindu  understands  it,  the  inferiority  of  the  female  sex  is  made  to  stand 
out  still  more  prominently.  Indeed,  that  sex  is  considered  an  obsta- 
cle, rather  than  an  aid  to  perfection.  As  heaven  is  supposed  to  be  the 
cessation  of  all  desire,  so  woman,  more  than  almost  anything  else,  is 

supposed  to  stand  in  the  way  of  its 
realization.  She  is  the  siren  who 
lures  to  sin  and  keeps  from  nirvana 
— "the  very  gateway  of  hell."* 
A  Hindu,  on  being  questioned  once 
as  to  matters  in  wliich  all  Hindus 
were  agreed,  is  said  to  have  men- 
tioned two — the  sacredness  of  the 
cow  and  the  evil  of  woman.  Prac- 
tically, indeed,  these  theories  and 
legal  principles,  like  those  of  Mu- 
hammadans,  are  often  thwarted  in 
their  effects  by  natural  affection 
and  the  workings  of  conscience — 
as  well  as  by  woman's  own  tact, 
tongue  and  will.  But,  granting  all 
this,  there  is  a  vast  difference  be- 
tween the  rights,  privileges  and  influence  of  the  female  sex  in  India 
and  in  gospel  lands. 

Intolerance  and  bitter  persecution  of  religious  converts  is  another 
characteristic  of  the  people  of  India.  This,  of  course,  would  not  be 
thought  strange  in  the  case  of  Moslems,  because  their  faith  and  his- 
tory are  the  very  embodiment  of  this  principle.  But,  tolerant  of 
other  religions  as  Hindus  are,  they  also  are  as  bitter  in  their  feelings 
as  Muhammadans  can  be  toward  persons  who  seek  to  proselyte  their 
people,  and  especially  toward  those  of  their  brethren  who  abandon 
their  faith,  break  caste  and  become  adherents  of  a  non-Hindu  sect. 
Every  device  that  ingenuity  can  contrive  is  employed  to  prevent  such 

*  Article  ill  Indian  Evangelical  Review,  Vol.  IX,  p.  13. 


GANESII,  THE   COD    OF    WISDOM. 


THEFT  AND   MURDER  127 

a  result,  or  to  punish  the  offender  who  has  ehided  their  efforts  and 
asserted  his  freedom — persecution  being  carried,  if  possible,  to  the 
point  of  murder.  Were  it  not  for  the  strong  arm  of  the  English  Gov- 
ernment this  characteristic  would  be  more  marked  than  it  is  now. 

Violation  of  property  rights  is  also  a  common  thing  in  India,  and 
that,  too,  notwithstanding  the  vigilance  of  the  police.  Several  tribes, 
such  as  the  Sansies,  are,  by  their  caste  profession,  thieves,  and  have  to 
be  put  under  restriction  by  government  authority.  Frequently,  too,  we 
hear  of  the  pillaging,  robbery  and  murder  done  by  dakoits,  who,  in 
organized  bands,  swoop  down  on  a  village  and  in  a  few  minutes  ac- 
complish all  the  destruction  of  a  raiding  party  in  time  of  war.  Some- 
times burglars  enter  a  tent,  or  break  through  the  walls  of  a  house,  and 
carry  off  everything  of  value  which  they  can  find.  Confidence  games 
are  also  played  with  success,  bribes  taken  (imposed  even)  by  many  na- 
tive officials,  and  gambling  pursued  with  unrelenting  cruelty. 

But  the  chief  difference  between  Indian  and  American  or  European 
society  in  this  matter  is  in  the  general  propensity  for  petty  thieving  and 
over-reaching.  Reference  has  already  been  made  to  this  trait  in  the 
case  of  servants.  But  servants  are  not  the  only  ones  of  whom  it  is 
characteristic.  All  classes,  high  and  low,  are  permeated  with  the  spirit. 
It  is  considered  a  small  fault  for  a  man  to  keep  back  dues,  or  appro- 
priate articles,  when  he  can  do  so  without  being  detected,  or  if  de- 
tected, without  being  prosecuted  and  punished.  Perfect  honesty  is  the 
exception,  not  the  rule.  And  then,  in  the  case  of  money  lenders  and 
others,  we  have  examples  of  persons  (and  they  are  numerous)  who 
under  forms  of  law  grind  the  faces  of  the  poor,  and  subject  them  to 
deep  Tinancial  distress.  One  of  the  greatest  curses  in  India  is  the 
Hindu  broker. 

Nor  even  among  the  "mild  Hindus"  is  there  as  much  regard  for 
human  life  as  in  Christian  countries.  True,  human  sacrifices,  widow- 
burning  and  professional,  caste-approved  murders,  like  those  of  the 
Thugs,  have  almost  all  ceased.  But  this  is  so  chiefly  because  they  have 
been  suppressed  by  the  strong  arm  of  British  authority — the  same 
Power  which  also  forbids  the  possession  of  firearms  to  natives  without 
license,  and  thus  greatly  diminishes  the  amount  of  ordinary  bloodshed 
which  might  otherwise  be  expected.  But,  in  spite  of  police  control 
and  imperial  law,  there  are  many  murders  committed  which  come  to 
light ;  while  the  number  of  lives  taken  secretly  by  exposure,  poison  and 
otherwise  (if  fully  known)  would  no  doubt  be  appalling. 


128 


LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 


This  is  particularly  true  of  the  treatment  of  helpless  people,  especially 
women,  and  female  infants — proof  of  which  is  to  be  found  in  the  smaller 
reported  birth-rate,  and  the  greater  yearly  mortality,  of  females  than 
of  males,  as  well  as  in  the  large  disproportion  existing  between  the  two 
sexes  in  the  enumeration  of  the  census.  Sometimes  towns  report 
fewer  births  of  female  infants  until  the  matter  is  brought  to  the  atten- 
tion of  the  magistrates  and  they  are  threatened  with  a  fine,  when — as 
is  said  to  have  lately  been  the  case  wnth  a  Gurdaspur  village — the  re- 
ports experience  a  violent  and  amusing  change,  even  exhibiting  the 
very  opposite  extreme.  During  1886  the  infant  death  rate  of  females 
in  the  Jalandhar  District  was  319  per  1000  against  274  per  1000  in 
males.  According  to  the  census  of  1891,  there  were  1666  more  males 
than  females  in  the  city  of  Jhelum,  where  there  was  a  total  population 
of  only  9688;  and  in  Lahore  less  than  41^  per  cent,  belonged  to  the 
weaker  sex. 

For  both  religious  and  moral  reasons,  therefore,  the  need  of  Chris- 
tian work  in  our  field  must  be  evident  to  all.  Men  may  talk  about 
hope  of  salvation  for  the  heathen  without  missionary  effort,  but  where 
can  we  find  a  man  among  them  who,  without  Christian  faith,  even  in 
the  eyes  of  charity,  exhibits  that  spirit  and  character  (holiness)  which 
the  Bible  tells  us  is  necessary  to  eternal  life.  No  doubt  the  testimony 
of  every  evangelical  laborer  would  be,  "I  never  saw  one,"  And  then 
what  shall  we  say  of  the  temporal  benefits  of  Christian  labor  among 
these  people?  Even  if  godliness  were  profitable  only  for  "the  life 
that  now  is  " — if  our  only  hope  were  to  elevate  them  in  the  scale  of 
civilization,  fit  them  for  self-government  and  make  them  more  intelli- 
gent, moral  and  congenial  companions — this  labor  would  not  be  in 
vain. 


BE'^^^^^H 

T^ 

^^ 

^^^^ 

^M 

Bfi  flFl^8|t^^?Sj^^^^'=s^ 

^4il^^ 

^§||torif^ 

V^IS 

DH'nmS'Srfi^  'W^^S^^ 

^Siw. 

****  IHmti " 

I  JHSli 

ioy 

isBii 

ifiBSS 

ISBmm 

SACKED  CATTLE. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

ORGANIZATION  FOR  WORK 

Missionaries  not  Independent — Church  Courts  and  Missionary  Societies — The 
Missionary  Association,  its  History,  Constitution,  Powers  and  Methods — The  Mis- 
sionary's Individual  Authority — His  Relation  to  Native  Agents. 

fOME  persons,  perhaps,  imagine  that  missionaries  laboring 
in  foreign  lands  carry  on  their  work  separately  and  inde- 
pendently of  one  another — disseminating  gospel  truth 
wherever  and  however  they  may  each  think  best.  But 
such  is  not  the  case.  There  are  very  few  perfectly  independent  mis- 
sionaries. As  a  rule  they  are  under  authority  and  must  regulate  their 
movements  according  to  the  appointment  and  the  direction  of  some 
higher  power.  What  this  power  is  differs  in  different  Missions  and  at 
different  periods  of  the  same  Mission,  depending  as  it  does  upon  char- 
acteristics of  church  polity,  progressive  development  and  orders  from 
the  home  church. 

In  our  own  Punjab  field,  as  in  all  Presbyterian  Missions,  the  ruling 
power  is  an  association  of  some  kind — either  a  church  court  or  a  soci- 
ety organized  for  the  purpose  under  a  special  law. 

Of  church  courts— or  administrative  bodies,  as  they  might  be  called 
9  (129) 


130  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

— we  have  Sessions,  Presbyteries  and  a  Synod  * — that  is,  a  gradation  of 
ecclesiastical  organizations,  according  to  our  Presbyterial  system. 

Sessions  are  composed  of  elders  and  ministers,  chosen  by  the  congre- 
gations, ordained  by  the  imposition  of  hands  and  regularly  installed 
in  their  office,  according  to  an  established  law,  which  is  contained  in 
our  "Book  of  Government."  Higher  courts,  according  to  the  same 
law,  consist  of  elders  (delegated  by  the  Sessions)  and  ordained  minis- 
ters ;  and  in  all  these  courts,  as  well  as  Sessions,  no  distinction  is  made 
on  account  of  color,  caste  or  place  of  birth. 

Ordained  foreign  missionaries  are  required  by  our  church  to  join 
Mission  Presbyteries  and  take  part  in  their  deliberations  j  while  unor- 
dained  missionaries  are  expected  to  join  congregations  in  the  field  as 
private  members,  not  only  in  order  that  they  may  retain  a  name  and  a 
place  in  the  visible  church,  have  a  right  to  sacramental  privileges  and 
grow  in  every  grace,  but  also  in  order  that  they  may  set  before  native 
Christians  an  example  of  subordination  to  God's  appointed  ordi- 
nances, secure  their  sympathy  by  hearty  co-operation  and  stimulate 
them  to  every  good  work. 

Church  courts  have  not  only  the  power  of  receiving  church  mem- 
bers, administering  the  sacraments,  exercising  discipline,  organizing 
congregations  and  ordaining  ecclesiastical  officers,  but  also  the  power 
of  carrying  on  Christian  work  within  their  own  territorial  bounds,  as 
far  as  their  means  and  opportunities  will  justify;  and  this  power  has' 
been  exercised  by  those  that  are  organized  in  our  India  field.  Ses- 
sions there  have  employed  special  agents  to  co-operate  with  the  pastor 
and  work  among  the  unconverted,  and  have  carried  on  almost  every 
species  of  missionary  labor.  Presbytery,  too,  has  had  jurisdiction  over 
every  part  of  our  field,  has  established  new  Mission  Districts,  appointed 
mission  superintendents,  ordained  men  {^sinc  titiild)  for  purely  evangel- 
istic work,  established  Christian  schools  and  published  religious  litera- 
ture. Indeed,  through  an  organized  system  of  Committees,  established 
as  early  as  the  month  of  January,  1884,  she  possessed  machinery  suffi- 
cient to  execute  every  form  of  ecclesiastical  or  missionary  enterprise ; 
and,  though  some  of  the  Committees  then  appointed,  for  various  rea- 
sons, died  out,  others  remained  as  active  instrumentalities  down  to  the 
time  of  the  formation  of  tlie  Synod. 

*  This  was  constituted  at  Sialkot,  November  7,  1893,  in  obedience  to  the  direction 
given  by  the  General  Assembly  in  May  preceding.  It  is  called  the  Synod  of  the 
Punjab. 


MISSIONARY  SOCIETIES  IN  INDIA  131 

Unlike  the  Mission,  too,  it  should  be  remarked,  these  ecclesiastical 
courts  are  not  placed  in  subordination  to  the  Board  of  Foreign  Mis- 
sions, but  have  direct  connection,  through  their  highest  body,  with  the 
General  Assembly  at  home,  by  which  alone  their  acts  can  be  reviewed. 

Of  missionary  societies  in  the  field,  we  have,  first,  Women's  Mission- 
ary Associations,  local  and  Presbyterial,  and  secondly,  an  association 
called  "The  Mission,"  or  more  definitely  and  legally,  "The  Sialkot 
Mission  " — taking  its  distinctive  name  from  the  first  station  occupied, 
just  as  the  Ludhiana  Mission  of  the  American  Presbyterian  Church 
owes  its  name  to  the  city  where  they  first  began  work. 

Our  Women's  Missionary  Societies  are  of  recent  origin  and  resemble 
somewhat  organizations  of  the  same  name  at  home.  Indeed,  they 
form  a  part  of  that  extensive  system  of  Ladies'  Missionary  Associa- 
tions, which,  following  the  trend  of  the  times,  has  developed  so  rapidly 
and  wonderfully  in  our  American  Church  during  the  past  few  years. 
The  first  congregational  W.  M.  S.  organized  was  that  of  Gurdaspur, 
which  originated  in  the  early  eighties.  Four  others  have  been  formed 
since  that  time.  The  Presbyterial  Association  was  founded  and  held 
its  first  meeting  at  Gurdaspur,  January  15,  1891.*  These  bodies, 
however,  have  as  yet  exercised  little  authority  of  any  kind,  their  work 
hitherto  being  confined  almost  entirely  to  that  of  stimulus  and  the  ad- 
vancement of  Christian  fellowship. 

Far  different  is  it  with  that  association  which  we  call  The  Mission. 
This  was  organized  almost  at  the  beginning  of  our  work — just  as  soon, 
indeed,  as  the  first  minister  was  reinforced  by  ministerial  associates. 
At  the  outset  it  consisted  of  only  foreign  male  missionaries ;  after  the 
ordination  of  Messrs.  Swift  and  Scott,  which  took  place  January  7, 
1859,  native  ordained  ministers  also  were  admitted  to  membership  ;  a 
few  years  subsequently  the  latter  were  excluded  ;  and  finally  an  enlarge- 
ment took  place  so  as  to  embrace  lady  foreign  missionaries. 

The  last  change  took  place  in  1890 — virtually  in  January,  when  by 
a  vote  of  the  Mission  they  were  allowed  to  participate  in  its  proceed- 
ings, and  legally  in  May,  when  the  General  Assembly  changed  the 
Manual  so  as  to  correspond  with  the  Mission's  action.  Two  limita- 
tions, however,  may  be  observed  in  regard  to  the  admission  of 
women: — first,  as  to  individuals;  and  secondly,  as  to  jurisdiction. 
The  General  Assembly's  act  is  so  worded,  or  at  least  so  interpreted, 

*  As  a  Synod  has  been  organized,  some  changes  in  this  Association  will  probably 
occur. 


132  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

as  to  exclude  nearly  all  married  lady  missionaries ;  and  even  those 
ladies,  married  or  unmarried,  who  are  admitted  to  membership  cannot 
advise  and  vote  on  any  matters  except  those  which  affect  their  own 
work.  The  latter  limitation  practically  amounts  to  little,  since  almost 
all  action  touches  the  ladies'  work  more  or  less  closely  ;  nor  is  the 
former  complained  of  by  the  parties  affected.  Some,  of  other 
Missions,  have  doubted  the  propriety  of  admitting  any  women  to 
membership  in  the  ruling  Council,  which  carries  on  mission  work. 
But  since  the  principle  has  been  admitted  by  our  church,  it  is  hoped 
that,  under  the  operation  of  a  liberal  spirit,  all  distinctions  will  soon 
cease,  wliether  they  relate  to  persons  or  measures. 

Reference  has  been  made  to  the  Manual.  This  contains  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  Mission,  as  well  as  many  other  matters  affecting  the 
duties  and  the  rights  of  foreign  missionaries.  It  is  sometimes  called 
the  Manual  of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  because  it  is  usually 
prepared  and  proposed  by  that  Board  \  but  it  has  no  authority  without 
the  approval  of  the  General  Assembly,  and  hence  might  more  properly 
be  termed  the  Manual  of  the  General  Ass'embly,  relating  to  foreign 
missions,  especially  since  its  regulations  are  as  binding  on  the  Board 
as  on  the  Mission. 

According  to  this  Manual  all  Mission  action  must  be  submitted  to 
the  Board  for  its  approval,  or  disapproval ;  and  the  latter  has  the  veto 
power.  Happily  the  Board  seldom  interferes  with  the  details  of  our 
missionary  work  and  in  this  respect  diverges  greatly  from  the  harassing 
policy  pursued  by  some  other  Home  Committees  (especially  those  of 
Scotch  and  British  Churches)  which  retain  as  much  power  as  possible 
in  their  own  hands.  So  seldom,  indeed,  does  our  Board  express  its 
disapprobation  of  the  Mission's  course  that  action  taken  by  the  latter 
on  almost  all  subjects  has  virtually  become  final,  and  is  carried  out,  as 
such,  witliout  waiting  for  the  former's  decision.* 

Of  course  there  are  exceptions,  just  as  there  should  be.  One  of  these 
is  in  regard  to  estimates.  Although  the  Mission  knows  better  what 
money  it  needs  to  carry  on  its  work  efficiently,  the  Board  knows  better 
how  much  it  can  safely  be  responsible  for,  and  hence  must  exercise  the 
right  of  saying  what  it  can   furnish;  although  even  in  this  matter  the 

*  The  Corresponding  Secretary  of  our  Board  from  its  organization,  June  3,  1859,  to 
his  death,  which  occurred  August  21,  1893,  was  the  Rev.  J.  B.  Dales,  D.  D.,  LL.  D., 
and  on  account  of  his  long,  active  and  sympathetic  services,  it  is  only  proper  that  we 
give  his  portrait. 


POWERS  OF  THE  MISSION 


133 


General  Assembly  knows  better  than  either  party  what  the  church  can 
give,  and  should  tiierefore  have  the  final  decision. 

The  Commissioners  of  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland,  who  visited 
India  in  the  winter  of  1889-90,  thought  that  the  regulation  of  bound- 
aries in  mission  fields  ought  also  to  be  largely  in  the  hands  of  the 
Home  Committee,  because  it  would  be  less  likely  to  act  from  party 
spirit  and  personal  prejudice  than  persons  who  are  in  the  field ;  and 
certainly  no  marked  increase  of  mission  territory  should  be  perma- 
nently decided  upon  without  the  sanction  of  those  who  have  as  much 
to  do  with  the  support  of  the 
work  as  have  the  members  of  the 
Board  at  home. 

And  more  confidently  still,  no 
doubt,  may  we  affirm  that  the 
fundamental  constitution  of  the 
Mission  and  the  ultimate  deter- 
mination of  the  questions,  who 
shall  be  its  members  and  what 
shall  be  its  powers,  ought  to  be 
largely  in  the  hands  of  the  home 
church  ;  for  in  such  matters,  if 
in  anything,  party  spirit,  personal 
ambition,  established  custom  and 
racial  prejudice  are  likely  to 
affect  the  judgment  of  those  who 
already  possess,  as  well  as  those 
who  earnestly  want,  power.  Be- 
sides, where  the  rival  of  the 
Mission  for  power  is  an  eccle- 
siastical court — such  as  the  Synod,  or  the  Presbytery — there  is  only  one 
body  exercising  authority  over  both  parties,  and  hence  in  a  position  to 
mediate  properly  between  them,  and  that  is  the  General  Assembly. 
Even  the  Foreign  Board  will  be  always  inclined  to  favor  that  organi- 
zation with  which  alone  it  is  officially  connected — namely,  the  Mis- 
sion. 

Our  Mission  resembles  other  deliberative  bodies  in  the  character  of 
its  officers  and  in  its  methods  of  transacting  business.  It  has  a  regu- 
lar Annual  Meeting  (formerly  in  January,  now  in  October,)  and  can 


134  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

meet  at  other  times,  either  on  adjournment,  or  at  the  special  call  of 
its  presiding  officer.  It  can  take  action  also  by  circular,  and  in  this 
respect  differs  from  Associations  at  home.  A  Circular,  according  to 
the  law  adopted  in  January,  1885,  is  really  a  written  motion,  signed 
by  the  mover  and  seconder  and  passed  around,  through  the  mail  or 
otherwise,  by  the  President,  for  the  votes  of  the  different  members. 
This  enables  the  Mission  to  transact  urgent  business  without  the  trou- 
ble and  expense  of  a  formal  meeting,  and  in  this  point  of  view  is  al- 
most a  necessity.  But  it  has  its  disadvantages.  Amendments  cannot 
be  satisfactorily  offered,  and  the  light  which  springs  from  discussion  is 
largely  absent ;  while,  in  announcing  his  decision  as  to  the  result,  the 
President  may  officially  make  remarks  which  virtually  modify  the 
character  of  the  action.  Besides,  in  some  Missions  it  has  been  em- 
ployed occasionally  as  a  means  of  undoing  business  previously  tran- 
sacted with  great  deliberation  at  a  regular  meeting. 

The  powers  of  the  Mission  are  not  clearly  defined  in  our  Manual. 
It  is  said  to  exist  "for  the  management  of  the  finances  and  general 
directing  and  supervising  of  the  mission  work,"  while  matters  strictly 
"  ecclesiastical  "  are  supposed  not  to  come  within  its  province.  Great 
opportunity  for  contraction,  or  expansion,  is  therefore  given  ;  and,  as 
a  matter  of  fact,  the  character  of  the  distribution  of  powers  made  be- 
tween the  Mission  and  our  ecclesiastical  bodies  has  not  been  uniform, 
but  has  varied  witli  the  convictions,  impulses  and  aggressive  tendencies 
of  their  respective  members.  Generally  it  has  been  asserted  by  mis- 
sionaries that  the  management  of  foreign  funds  and  foreign  mission- 
aries comes  under  the  sole  direction  of  the  Mission  ;  while  the  control 
of  money  raised  by  natives  and  of  employees  supported  by  tliis  money, 
comes  within  the  jurisdiction  of  ecclesiastical  bodies.  It  is  also  con- 
ceded that  the  latter  authorities  alone  have  the  right  to  ordain  minis- 
ters and  elders,  establish  regular  pastoral  connections,  organize 
churches,  and  manage  the  Theological  Seminary.  But  these  limita- 
tions have  not  been  strictly  adhered  to  ;  while  between  them  is  a  con- 
siderable area  of  doubtful  (or  neutral)  territory,  in  occupying  which 
practice  has  varied.  Occasionally,  too,  for  policy's  sake,  co-operation 
has  been  sought  or  exercised,  so  as  to  secure  harmony  of  action.  For 
instance.  Presbytery  has  been  asked  to  sanction  rules  governing  the 
qualifications  and  the  pay  of  Mission  servants ;  while  Presbytery  has 
taken  action  confirming  ecclesiastical  appointments  made  by  the  Mis- 


(135) 


136  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

sion  and  authorizing  baptismal  acts  performed,  and  cliurch  discipline 
exercised,  by  missionaries  or  other  ministers  without  the  authority  of 
a  Session. 

It  may  be  remarked,  however,  that,  generally  speaking,  during  the 
earlier  half  of  the  period  chiefly  under  review  there  was  a  growing  dis- 
position to  throw  as  much  power  as  possible  into  the  hands  of  the 
Presbytery;  while  during  the  latter  half  the  tide  kept  flowing  in  the 
opposite  direction.  This  change  in  the  usual  course  of  things  is  one 
of  the  causes  of  the  memorial  sent  up  by  several  native  ministers  to 
the  Assembly  of  1892,  and  one  of  the  reasons,  put  forward  by  some, 
why  a  readjustment  of  the  rights  and  powers  of  these  rival  authorities 
should  be  made. 

Coming  down  to  particulars,  we  are  required  to  note  that  the  Mis- 
sion, as  an  organized  body,  has  included  among  its  prerogatives  the 
preparation  of  missionaries  for  labor;*  their  location,  their  assign- 
ment to  special  duties,  and  their  change  from  one  place,  or  work,  to 
another;  the  approval  of  estimates,  expenditures  and  accounts;  the  es- 
tablishment of  rules  regulating  the  wages  of  employees  and  limiting 
the  outlay  of  funds  in  various  directions  ;  the  sanction  of  plans  for 
buildings,  and  the  assignment  of  mission  dwellings  to  particular  per- 
sons;  the  appointment  of  committees  to  perform  a  special  work;  the 
direction  of  official  correspondence,  intended  for  publication  in  the 
church  papers  ;  the  approval  of  annual  reports;  granting  missionaries 
leave  to  ask  the  Board  for  permission  to  go  home  on  furlough  ;  the  ap- 
peal for  more  funds  and  more  missionaries;  the  establishment  of  insti- 
tutions for  training  native  agents,  and  sometimes  also  the  appointment 
of  such  agents  to  a  particular  station  or  work. 

Our  Annual  Meetings  are  busy  and  interesting  occasions,  lasting  for 
about  a  week.  Every  one  of  the  dozen  or  more  sub-treasurers,  as  well 
as  the  general  treasurer,  presents  an  account  of  all  his  receipts  and  ex- 
penditures, and  these  reports  are  individually  examined,  approved, 
audited  and  signed,  and  balance  sheets  are  prepared  for  transmission 
to  the  Board. f  Personal  reports  of  their  work  during  the  year  are  also 
given,  either  orally  or  in  writing,  by  missionaries,  and  a  Committee 

*  Especially  the  oversight  of  their  instruction  in  the  vernacular  tongues. 

f  Since  the  change  of  the  time  of  the  Annual  Meeting  to  October,  much  of  this 
work  is  done  by  a  Committee  specially  appointed  for  the  purpose,  which  meets  at  the 
end  of  the  year,  so  that  the  accounts  of  the  whole  year  may  be  considered  and 
closed. 


ANNUAL    MEETINGS  137 

appointed  to  compile  from  them  a  general  report  for  publication,  both 
in  India  and  America.  All  sorts  of  business — memorials,  appoint- 
ments, appeals,  reports  of  standing  committees,  amendment  of  Mission 
rules,  approval  of  estimates,  settlement  of  boundaries,  requests  of 
neighboring  Missions,  calls  for  new  missionaries,  approval  of  plans  for 
new  buildings,  purchase  of  more  mission  property,  assignment  of 
houses  on  the  hills,  granting  leave  to  go  home,  and  many  other  matters 
— are  duly  transacted  and  in  the  course  of  their  transaction  call  forth 
a  vast  amount  of  discussion.  Conferences  are  also  held  for  the  pur- 
pose of  considering  various  questions  of  Mission  policy,  or  stimulating 
spiritual  life.  And  on  Sabbaths  religious  meetings  are  attended — gen- 
erally in  connection  with  the  congregation  of  the  place — and  some- 
times the  Lord's  Supper  is  dispensed.  Always,  too,  there  is  a  good 
deal  of  social  enjoyment ;  since  meals  are  taken  at  a  common  board, 
and,  during  periods  of  recess,  leisure  is  given  to  old  and  young  for 
conversation  or  recreation. 

Until  recently,  Annual  Meetings  were  held  in  rotation  at  the  prin- 
cipal stations  of  the  Mission,  and  the  brethren  of  the  station  chosen 
(including  ladies)  were  expected  to  entertain  those  who  came  from  a 
distance;  although  tents  were  often  required  to  provide  entertainment 
for  all.  In  January,  1S92,  however,  a  general  fund  was  established, 
and  a  regular  assessment  instituted,  to  pay  all  expenses,  and  one  place 
was  selected  as  the  point  of  annual  rendezvous.  That  place  is  the 
Christian  Training  Institute,  Sialkot. 

Among  the  more  permanent  appointments  which  missionaries  as 
individuals  receive  directly  from  the  Mission  are  the  superintendence 
of  Missions  in  a  particular  district,  or  of  the  Boarding  School,  or  of 
the  Christian  Training  Institute,  or  of  a  hospital,  the  charge  of  ze- 
nana  work,  or  Girls'  Schools,  the  training  of  Christian  women,  the 
management  of  High  Schools,  and  the  duties  of  a  treasurer — general  or 
subordinate.  Once  appointed,  the  missionary,  as  a  general  thing,  is 
left  to  do  his  own  work  with  a  free  hand — subject  only  to  the  limita- 
tions of  his  field  and  treasury,  and  the  general  rules  which  have  been 
adopted  in  regard  to  his  particular  department  of  labor.  Only  in  the 
management  of  the  Girls'  Boarding  School,  the  Christian  Training  In- 
stitute and  the  medical  work,  are  there  Committees  (called  Boards) 
established  to  superintend  superintendents  and  form  a  responsible 
agency  between  the  individual  missionary  and  the  Mission  ;  nor,  as  far 
as  known,  has  the  success  of  this  exceptional  policy  in  these  instances 


138  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

been  such  as  to  recommend  its  adoption  in  other  cases.  As  it  is  not 
wise  for  the  Foreign  Board  to  interfere  with  the  Mission  in  the  details 
of  its  work,  so  it  does  not  seem  wise  for  the  Mission  to  hamper  its 
different  members  by  additional  machinery,  especially  when  that  ma- 
chinery is  largely  of  a  personal  character,  and  composed  of  only  a  itw 
individuals. 

The  missionary,  supposed  to  be  free  and  responsible  in  his  special 
sphere  of  labor,  employs  sucli  native  helpers,  and  makes  such  expendi- 
tures, as  in  his  judgment  are  necessary  to  carry  on  his  work  with  efifi- 
ciency.  If  he  is  the  manager  of  a  school,  his  assistants  will  be  mostly 
heathen  ;  if  the  superintendent  of  evangelistic  work,  they  will  be  en- 
tirely Christian  and  of  good  ecclesiastical  standing.  But  whether 
Christian  or  non-Christian,  they  are  all  subject  to  his  control  and  can 
be  retained  or  dismissed  at  his  pleasure.  Once,  indeed,  a  class  of  men, 
called  "  Mission  servants,"  were  sent  hither  and  thither  by  the  Mission 
itself  and  were  supposed  to  hold  their  position  independently  of  the 
will  of  the  missionary  under  whom  they  were  laboring.  But  later  this 
distinction  was  lost.  Even  elders,  theological  students,  licentiates  and 
ordained  ministers  (all  but  settled  pastors)  came  finally  to  hold  the 
same  relation  to  their  work  as  other  employees  and  could  be  discharged 
by  the  superintendent  if  he  saw  fit — although,  in  tlie  case  of  ministers, 
sanction  by  the  Mission  itself  was  required  to  make  the  discharge  final. 
In  1893,  as  one  of  the  results  of  a  memorial  sent  up  to  the  General 
Assembly,  native  ministers  were  again  made  "Mission  servants"  so 
far  that,  in  their  dismissal,  the  Mission  alone  can  exercise  original  ju- 
risdiction ;  but  no  exception  has  been  made  in  behalf  of  any  other  class 
of  laborers — that  is,  in  behalf  of  205  of  our  212  native  workers. 

This  autocratic  method  of  management  prevails  largely  also  in 
some  other  Missions  besides  our  own,  but  with  minor  modifications. 

The  simplicity  of  the  policy  is  evident ;  and,  were  the  missionary 
always  wise  and  just,  its  efficiency  and  general  usefulness  would  be 
undoubted.  The  unimpeded  will  of  one  man  would  make  every  part 
of  his  machinery  as  free  from  defects,  and  as  smooth  in  its  operation, 
as  is  possible  with  the  materials  at  his  disposal.  Native  helpers  would 
seek  above  all  things  to  please  their  sahib,  would  naturally  suppress 
every  feeling  and  every  act  which  might  be  construed  as  rebellious  or 
antagonistic,  and  would  do  his  every  bidding  with  alacrity.  Unity  of 
purpose,  harmony  of  movement,  vigor  of  action  and  possibly  largeness 
of  result,  would  be  secured. 


THE   AUTOCRATIC  POLICY 


139 


Whether  this  policy,  liowever,  even  in  an  ideal  condition,  accords 
with  the  genius  of  Presbyterianism,  pays  proper  respect  to  the  plans, 
official  acts  and  interests  of  ecclesiastical  bodies  and  ecclesiastical  in- 
stitutions, allows  every  man  his  full  rights,  is  best  fitted  to  satisfy  native 
Christians,  elevate  their  motives,  or  build  up  a  zealous,  self-acting, 
mature,  native  church,  and  may  be  viewed  with  indifference  as  a  highly 
excellent,  although  confessedly  temporary,  form  of  missionary  effort — 
are  questions  about  which  men  may  differ,  and  of  which  more  may  be 
said  hereafter. 


VARIETIES    OF   LOCUSTS. 


CHAPTER  XIV 


SECULAR  WORK 

Learning  the  Vernacular  Languages — Financial  Business — Sub-Treasurers'  Work — 
Superintendents' — General  Treasurer's — Purchase  of  Land — Building  Houses 
— Repairs — Teaching  and  Managing  Schools — Medical  Work — Remedies  Dis- 
cussed. 

ONTRARY  to  the  opinion  which  most  people  have,  a  mis- 
sionary's work  is  often  to  a  considerable  extent  secular  in 
its  character — much  more  so  on  the  average  than  that  of 
a  minister  in  gospel  lands;  and  almost  necessarily  this  is  so. 
The  acquisition  of  the  foreign  languages  througli  which  he  must 
operate  is  an  intellectual  and  a  physical  process  which  meets  him  at 
the  outset,  and  absorbs  a  large  share  of  his  time  and  attention. 
Sounds  are  to  be  apprehended  and  accurately  made  ;  words  are  to  be 
learned ;  grammatical  rules  are  to  be  acquired  ;  books  are  to  be  read  ; 
a  strange  chirography  is  to  be  rendered  familiar  to  the  eye  and  the 
hand ;  attempts  at  conversation  and  public  speaking  must  be  made. 
For  a  time  the  learner's  mind  dwells  on  little  else  than  strange  forms, 
sounds  and  idioms.  Like  a  jingling  ditty,  which  one  has  chanced  to 
repeat  too  often,  or  the  positions  and  movements  on  a  chess  board  to 
him  who  spends  much  time  at  the  game  of  chess,  such  linguistic  pecu- 
liarities present  themselves  at  every  turn  and  shut  out  more  serious 
thoughts.  The  victim  (if  such  he  may  be  called)  is  continually  trans- 
lating, criticising,  practicing.  Even  the  house  of  God,  where  truth 
is  presented  in  new  and  imperfectly  apprehended  language,  and  wliere 
many  strange  expressions  meet  him  for  the  first  time,  is  not  free  from 
the  exercise.  The  newcomer  is  verily  persecuted  by  the  spectre  of  a 
foreign  speech.  It  even  haunts  him  in  his  dreams.  And  this  condi- 
tion of  things  does  not  disappear  altogether  very  soon,  nor  very  sud- 
denly, in  any  case.  Gradually,  of  course,  it  passes  away ;  but  it  lin- 
gers longer  than  some  would  imagine. 
(140) 


STUDYING    THE   PEOPLE 


141 


The  study  of  the  country,  and  of  the  manners,  customs,  prejudices 
and  other  peculiarities  of  the  people,  is  also  a  process  which  requires 
much  observation,  reading  and  experience  of  a  secular  character.  It 
is  well  for  missionaries,  perhaps,  that  they  have  not  now  the  miracu- 
lous gift  of  tongues — unless,  indeed,  they  possessed  with  it  an  equally 
miraculous  power  of  understanding  fully  the  subjects  with  which  tliey 
have  to  deal.  Many  unfortunate  mistakes  would  be  made  by  new  mis- 
sionaries if  they  could  begin  their  missionary  efforts  at  once.  A 
knowledge  of  one's  audience  is  necessary  to  insure  appropriate  re- 
marks and  judicious  evangelism.  Even  under  present  conditions  the 
foreign  laborer  is  sometimes 
exceedingly  unfortunate  in  his 
statements — to  say  nothing  of 
the  frequency  with  which  his 
imprudence  is  hidden,  or  nulli- 
fied, by  imperfections  of  speech. 
The  preparatory  work  to  be 
performed  by  a  missionary, 
therefore,  in  the  direction  just 
indicated,  is  by  no  means  small. 

And  then,  after  his  labors  are 
fairly  begun,  he  finds,  often  to  -^ 
his  surprise,  that  spiritual  work, 
strictly  so-called,  is  far  from 
being  all  that  he  is  called  upon 
to  do. 

Financial  matters,  for  in- 
stance, must  absorb  many  hours 
of  his  time.  Even  if  he  is  not 
a  sub-treasurer,  he  is  necessarily 

required  to  keep  accounts.  He  must  look  after  the  wages  of  his  sub- 
ordinates and  approve  the  monthly  bills  which  they  present  to  the 
treasurer  proper.  He  must  also  be  responsible  for  incidental  expenses, 
and  note  down  every  one  of  the  items,  large  and  small,  which  make 
up  his  debits  and  credits — all  of  which  must  be  handed  in  every 
month  to  his  superior  in  the  financial  department.  But,  ten  chances 
to  one,  he  is  the  sub-treasurer  himself  and  must  "keep"  his  own 
"books."  This  involves  the  transcription  of  all  accounts  into  a  day 
book  and  a  ledger,  the  balancing  of  these  at  the  end  of  the  year,  to 


OFFICERS    AT 


142  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

show  that  his  accounts  are  correct,  and  that  he  has  not  overrun  his 
estimates — a  work  which  has  often  cost  missionaries  many  an  anxious 
tliought.  It  involves  also,  frequent  letters  to  the  General  Treasurer 
for  money — as  well  as  to  the  bank  through  which  the  business  is  done 
— and  the  changing  of  government  notes  into  silver  rupees,  which  is 
sometimes  an  annoying  process.  It  involves,  moreover,  the  payment 
of  employees  and  others,  when  their  monthly  work  is  done,  and 
taking  from  them  receipts  as  vouchers.  All,  too,  must  be  submitted 
to  the  Mission,  or  the  Financial  Committee,  at  its  annual  meeting,  for 
approval  or  disapproval. 

The  amount  of  labor  included  in  the  sub-treasurer's  work  may  be 
inferred  from  one  example,  that  of  the  writer  as  superintendent  of  the 
Christian  Training  Institute.  His  books  show  expenditures  under 
thirteen  different  heads,  and  receii)is  under  four  heads.  The  former 
comprised  Boarding,  Books  and  Stationery,  Clothing,  Doctor  and 
Medicines,  Library,  Professors'  Salaries,  Teachers'  Salaries,  Servants' 
Wages,  Scholarships,  Traveling,  Repairs,  Allowances,  and  Incidentals; 
the  latter,  Fees,  Private  Support,  General  Treasury  and  Micellaneous. 
Some  of  these  heads,  too,  suggest  a  great  amount  of  trouble.  Take, 
for  example.  Boarding.  Food  and  fuel  must  be  purchased  every  week 
or  month,  inspected,  weighed  and  put  into  the  store-room,  and  the 
quantity  and  cost  of  each  kind  noted  down  ;  then  it  must  be  meas- 
ured or  weighed,  as  it  is  daily  given  out  to  the  cooks;  then  the  pre- 
pared food  must  be  inspected  and  sampled,  from  time  to  time,  and 
complaints  attended  to;  and  all  through  the  process  a  sharp  lookout 
must  be  kept  up  for  pilferers.  Take  again  the  item  of  Clothing. 
Cloth  must  be  purchased  at  the  lowest  market  price,  measured  and 
paid  for  ;  tailors  must  be  secured  to  cut  it  up  and  make  it  into  gar- 
ments of  various  sizes  ;  these  must  be  assigned  to  the  different  boys 
and  labeled,  and  from  week  to  week  they  must  be  changed  also  and 
given  to  the  washerman  ;  while  not  in  use  they  must  be  kept  in  a 
safe  place  ;  when  damaged  they  must  be  repaired  ;  and  an  account  must 
be  kept,  not  only  of  what  each  boy  receives,  but  also  of  what  the  washer- 
man receives  and  returns,  and  of  all  expenses  for  manufacture  or  repair. 
Similar  trouble  is  necessary  in  reference  to  shoes,  caps  and  turbans. 
And  so  we  might  go  over  the  whole  catalogue.  One  can  easily  imagine 
how  much  precious  time  is  consumed  in  the  different  departments. 

If  a  man  itinerates  he  must  keep  an  account  also  of  his  traveling 
outfit,  his  camels,  his  daily  expenditure  for  fuel,  feed  and  other  mat- 


FINANCIAL    BUSINESS— BUYING   LAND  143 

ters.  If  he  keeps  a  bookshop,  he  must,  from  time  to  time,  take  an 
inventory  of  his  stock,  note  down  daily  sales,  and  go  (or  send)  to  the 
general  depot  for  new  supplies.  If  he  superintends  a  press  he  must 
attend  to  the  various  matters  which  are  required  to  keep  it  in  constant 
and  efficient  operation;  and  have  his  note-book  convenient,  so  that  he 
will  not  forget  any  outlay. 

In  addition  to  such  financial  work,  the  General  Treasurer  must  keep 
up  a  correspondence  with  the  Treasurer  of  the  Foreign  Board  in 
America,  look  after  an  advantageous  disposal  of  his  Bills  of  Exchange, 
keep  a  bank  account,  see  that  each  sub-treasurer  gets  his  monthly 
quota  of  funds,  provide  in  some  way  for  deficiencies,  keep  a  record  of 
all  his  transactions,  report  annually  to  the  Mission  and  the  Treasurer 
of  the  Foreign  Board,  and  make  out  balance  sheets  for  publication. 

Akin  to  such  labor  is  the  acquisition  of  land  for  mission  dwellings, 
village  schools,  hospitals,  churches,  bookshops  and  other  necessary 
purposes — also  the  erection  of  suitable  buildings,  and  their  repairs  from 
time  to  time. 

It  is  generally  difficult  to  acquire  real  estate  in  India.  Foreigners 
are  viewed  with  distrust  ;  and  missionaries  labor  under  the  additional 
disadvantage  of  being  professed  agents  for  the  introduction  of  a  new 
religion  into  the  country.  Few,  therefore,  like  to  sell  them  land  or 
houses.  Even  a  large  price  will  often  fail  to  induce  a  man  to  part 
with  his  possessions.  Besides,  property  belongs  to  families  rather 
than  individuals,  and  the  head  of  a  household  would  not  like  to  sell 
his  ancestral  estate  without  the  consent  of  his  friends,  even  if  he  could 
do  so.  And  more  than  this,  a  man's  neighbors  also  have  something  to  say 
in  the  transaction.  According  to  an  ancient  Indian  law,  intended  to 
protect  a  village  from  the  intrusion  of  strangers,  people  owning  land 
near  that  which  has  just  been  sold,  can,  within  a  limited  period,  claim 
the  latter,  by  themselves  paying  the  sum  for  which  it  has  changed 
hands,  and  thus  cut  out  the  alien  purchaser.  This  right  is  called  the 
haqq-i-shufa.  It  often  stands  in  the  way  of  a  good  title,  and  hinders 
the  efforts  of  a  missionary  to  get  for  himself  a  local  habitation.  Our 
superintendents  have  often  labored  for  years  to  obtain  a  property  foot- 
hold in  certain  places;  and  sometimes  they  have  failed  in  their  object 
after  all. 

The  erection  of  buildings  is  also  a  very  common,  as  well  as  a  very 
troublesome  and  tedious,  work  in  a  mission  field.  Probably  forty  or 
fifty  different  structures  have  been  put  up  during  the  past  fourteen 


144  LIFE   AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

years  by  our  own  people.  Mr.  Scott's  work  in  this  department  ag- 
gregated a  value  of  perhaps  14,000  rupees  before  his  last  return  to 
America;  Mr.  Lytle's  still  more;  the  writer's  own  about  48,000  ru- 
pees, and  that  of  the  whole  Mission  more  than  100,000  rupees.  x\s  a 
general  thing,  too,  every  part  of  this  kind  of  work  must  be  superin- 
tended by  the  missionary  himself.  First,  he  must  make  a  plan  of  the 
building  and  calculate  how  much  of  each  kind  of  material  is  needed. 
Then  perhaps  he  must  manufacture  the  brick,  though  in  large  stations 
this  can  be  found  ready-made  for  sale.  When  bought,  the  brick,  as  it 
is  delivered,  must  be  inspected  and  counted.  Lime  and  other  materials, 
for  mortar  and  concrete,  must  also  be  prepared  or  procured,  under 
close  personal  supervision.  Logs,  too,  must  be  bought ;  and  in  doing 
so  several  trips,  perhaps,  must  be  made  to  the  river  depots  whither  they 
have  been  floated  from  the  mountain  forests.  Afterwards  these  logs 
must  be  transported  to  their  destination,  sawed  into  lumber  by  hand, 
and  made  ready  for  the  carpenter — all  under  the  eye  of  the  sahib. 
Then  the  bricklayers,  carpenters  and  common  laborers  must  be  set  to 
work  at  their  various  tasks,  their  roll  called  morning  and  evening,  their 
work  inspected  several  times  a  day,  mistakes  corrected,  lazy  or  ineffi- 
cient employees  weeded  out,  and  provision  made  for  every  emergency. 
As  the  business  advances,  glass,  putty,  tiles,  paint  and  other  articles 
must  be  purchased,  and  new  men  employed  to  put  them  in  their  proper 
places.  Weekly  pay  bills  must  also  be  made  out  and  the  wages  of 
every  laborer  duly  paid.  And  a  strict  account  must  be  kept  of  every 
item  of  expenditure — to  be  reported  to  the  Mission  when  the  work  is 
done. 

At  home,  where  building  is  accomplished  with  such  astonishing  ra- 
pidity, people  may  regard  this  branch  of  our  labor  as  comparatively 
small.  But  the  circumstances  in  America  are  very  different ;  and  we 
may  safely  assert  that  such  work  in  India  gives  a  man  at  least  five 
times  as  much  trouble  as  the  same  amount  does  here.  The  erection  of 
a  5000-rupee  house  virtually  constitutes  a  whole  season's  labor  for  the 
missionary  in  charge. 

Besides  building  proper  also,  we  must  notice  the  missionary's  work 
of  making  yearly  repairs,  which,  though  not  so  expensive  as  the  former, 
is,  in  proportion  to  its  cost,  still  more  tedious  and  annoying. 

Our  work  of  education,  too,  involves  a  great  deal  of  secular  labor. 
.True,  the  great  end  of  our  educational  system  is  religious — the  con- 
version of  sinners  and  the  edification  of  saints — and  the  consideration 


EDUCATIONAL    AND   MEDICAL    WORK  145 

of  this  feature  will  come  farther  on.  But  the  machinery  is  largely 
secular.  Bible  instruction,  as  a  rule,  cannot  occupy  more  than  one 
hour  every  day.  The  rest  of  the  school  time  must  be  filled  up  with 
ordinary  recitations.  Sometimes  the  missionary  may  delegate  such 
tuition  to  other  persons.  But  often  he  does  not  do  so  entirely;  and 
always,  if  he  wishes  to  draw  large  pay  for  his  superintendence  from 
government  sources,  must  he  spend  several  hours  daily  in  teaching 
some  of  the  branches  of  the  university  curriculum.  Religious  instruc- 
tion is  not  taken  into  account  by  government  inspectors.  And  then 
the  general  work  of  superintendence  necessarily  involves  a  great  deal 
that  is  secular.  Teachers  must  be  looked  after,  their  work  tested,  and, 
wlien  vacancies  occur,  their  places  filled.  Examinations  must  be  held 
from  time  to  time,  reports  made  out,  pay  rolls  inspected,  fees,  scholar- 
ships, repairs,  grants-in-aid  and  other  matters  looked  after;  and  some- 
times even  the  physical  training  and  autliorized  amusements  of  the 
school  require  attention.  Only  those  who  have  had  experience  in 
educational  work  can  properly  sum  up  the  whole. 

And  these  remarks  apply  not  merely  to  the  High  Schools  and  other 
institutions,  intended  more  particularly  for  the  conversion  of  the 
heathen,  but  also  in  a  large  degree  to  the  Christian  Training  Institute, 
the  Girls'  Boarding  School,  and  such  village  schools  as  are  established 
more  especially  for  the  edification  of  Christians. 

Similar  remarks  may  also  be  made  in  regard  to  medical  work. 
Every  missionary  must  pay  some  attention  to  sanitary  matters  and  the 
art  of  healing,  whether  he  be  principal  of  a  school  or  superintendent 
of  missions.  When  pupils  get  sick  the  instructor  would  be  hardhearted, 
indeed,  if  he  left  them  altogether  to  the  tender  mercies  of  their  igno- 
rant friends;  and  when  the  institution  is  a  boarding  school  he  is  es- 
pecially responsible.  As  the  minister  goes  forth  on  his  preaching  tour 
also,  it  is  impossible  for  him  to  escape  the  pleadings  of  the  afflicted  for 
relief.  Invalids  often  crowd  around  him  ;  and  his  mission  as  an  am- 
bassador for  good  would  suffer  greatly  if  he  turned  them  all  away 
without  help.  Even  as  he  sits  at  home  applications  for  medicine  are 
of  daily  occurrence.  Missionaries,  therefore,  cannot  well  escape  the 
secular  work  of  distributing  medical  remedies  and  healing  disease  ;  and 
frequently  this  work  breaks  in  pretty  seriously  upon  their  time  and 
strength. 

And  especially  is  this  true  of  medical  missionaries,  strictly  so  called. 
For  this  particular  object  they  have  gone  out  to  the  field.  Scores  of 
10 


146  LIFE  AND    WORK  TX  INDIA 

"cases"  are  daily  brought  before  them  in  the  dispensary,  or  the  hos- 
pital— besides  those  that  must  be  treated  in  the  homes  of  the  people. 
It  is  difficult  for  a  skillful  and  successful  doctor  to  find  an  hour's  leisure 
for  any  other  business  than  that  of  his  immediate  profession.  Direct 
religious  instruction  must  be  largely  delegated  to  other  hands. 

Connected  with  even  the  most  purely  spiritual  departments  of  mis- 
sionary labor  also,  is  an  unusual  amount  of  business  which  may  be 
called  unspiritual  and  secular.  The  preparations  for  bazar  preaching, 
evangelistic  tours,  literary  production  or  even  pastoral  work,  and  the 
accompaniments  which  environ  them,  are  largely  of  the  earth,  earthy. 
A  big  setting  is  required  for  the  precious  jewel. 

But,  it  may  be  asked,  is  there  no  remedy  for  this  state  of  things? 
Cannot  some  substitute  be  found  for  religious  agents  in  doing  secular 
work?  Might  not  a  layman  be  sent  out  to  the  field  to  assume  the 
great  burden  of  keeping  accounts  and  erecting  houses?  Might  not 
building,  at  least,  be  done  by  a  contractor?  Cannot  natives  be  em- 
ployed to  lessen  the  task  of  foreign  missionaries?  Might  they  not  act 
as  sub-treasurers,  teachers  and  medical  assistants?  Might  not  the  ad- 
vice of  Hobab  to  Moses  be  followed,  aids  appointed,  and  the  leaders 
be  set  free  for  higher  and  more  spiritual  work? 

To  some  extent  this  is  done,  as  I  have  already  hinted.  Sub-treas- 
urers sometimes  get  their  subordinates  to  keep  special  accounts,  and 
report  from  time  to  time.  Almost  all  the  secular  teachers  in  our 
schools  are  natives,  and  most  of  them  non-Christian.  Assistant  over- 
seers and  special  agents  are  employed  by  superintendents  in  the  work 
of  building.  Apothecaries,  nurses  and  native  doctors  are  hired  to  help 
a  physician-in-charge.  Much  of  the  drudgery,  and  comparatively  un- 
important business  in  every  department,  is  delegated  by  a  missionary 
to  persons  of  smaller  pay  and  lower  office. 

But  the  amount  of  economy  and  substitution  which  can  thus  be  se- 
cured is  unavoidably  limited.  A  lay  missionary,  appointed  for  purely 
secular  work,  would  not  be  less  expensive  than  a  minister.  Nor  could 
he  assume  all  the  labor  of  keeping  accounts  or  building  houses,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  superintendence  of  schools.  Necessarily  he  would  be 
dependent  on  local  agents  for  nine-tenths  of  the  details  of  his  business.. 
He  could  not  be  everywhere  at  once.  And  the  local  agents  employed 
ought  not  in  most  cases  to  be  of  lower  rank  than  himself.  Nor  can 
responsible  contractors  be  found  in  many  (if  any)  of  our  stations  ;  and, 
if  secured,  their  work  of  superintendence  would  prove  more  costly  than 


IS  A    REMEDY  POSSIBLE? 


147 


that  of  the  missionaries  themselves.  Schools,  too,  that  are  taught 
chiefly  by  non-Christians,  are  of  little  account  as  religious  agencies 
without  a  strong  infusion  of  missionary  zeal  and  missionary  scrutiny. 
Nor  can  physicians  well  delegate  much  of  their  work  in  healing  the 
sick  to  others.  The  responsible  head  must  be  present  whenever  pos- 
sible. 

Besides,  even  supposing  a  radical  change  of  policy  in  this  matter  prac- 
ticable, the  general  question  comes  up  whether  anything  would  be 
gained  by  shifting  all  secular  work  from  the  missionaries  to  the  shoul- 
ders of  Christian  natives.*  Of  course  they  ought  to  get  scftne  training 
in  this  direction,  so  as  to  assume  in  due  time  all  the  responsibilities  of 
an  independent  church.  But  native  helpers  of  character  and  capacity 
are  comparatively  limited,  and  they  are  all  needed  in  a  spiritual 
sphere.  Why  subject  them  to  such  an  extensive  worldly  influence  and 
draw  them  away  almost  entirely  from  the  great  work  of  spreading  the 
gospel?  Would  not  the  native  church  suffer  thereby ?  Unfortunate, 
indeed,  is  it  that  missionaries  are  involved  in  so  much  that  appears 
alien  to  their  calling.  But  is  it  not  better  that  they  bear  the  chief 
part  of  this  burden  themselves  and  leave  their  converts  freer  for  reli- 
gious growth  and  religious  activity  ?  Will  not  the  cause  of  Christ 
there  be  further  advanced,  in  the  long  run,  by  this  policy  than  by  the 
opposite  ? 

*  I  take  it  for  granted  that  no  one  would  insist  on  using  non-Christian  natives  any 
more  than  we  do.  Some  think  that  they  ought  not  to  be  employed  at  all,  especially 
as  teachers. 


W^^ 

^^^ 

P^j^lJSJ^^tf/likS 

3I^£bl^s£H^i 

CHAPTER   XV 


EVANGELISTIC  WORK— I 

Aim   of  Missions — General    Principles — Home   Religion — Employer's    Influence — 
Social  Intercourse — Mistakes  Corrected — Bazar  Preaching — Melas. 

HE  great  object  of  Missions,  like  that  of  our  Lord's  advent 
into  tlie  world,  is  to  save  sinners  and  thus  manifest  tlie 
glory  of  God — that  is,  to  save  sinners  from  the  guilt,  the 
power  and  the  consequences  of  sin,  not  only  in  this  life, 
but  also  and  especially  in  that  which  is  to  come.  Hence,  it  is  not 
primarily  to  educate,  or  civilize,  or  humanize  the  heathen,  although 
such  ends  are  important ;  nor  is  it  to  secure  the  adoption  of  a  religion 
which  is  better  than  others  only  in  the  sense  that  it  is  the  highest  of 
its  class,  every  one  of  which  is  measurably  useful  in  accomplishing  the 
same  end.  It  assumes  that  all  men  are  sinners  and  exposed  to  God's 
wrath,  that  Christ  is  the  only  Saviour,  that  the  Bible  is  God's  only 
inspired  book,  that  the  interests  of  eternity  are  immeasurably  superior 
to  those  of  time,  and  that  other  religions,  having  no  basis  in  divine 
revelation  and  failing  to  save  the  soul  from  everlasting  death,  are 
therefore  false — in  other  words,  that  besides  that  of  Christ  "  there  is 
none  other  name  under  heaven  given  among  men,  whereby  we  must  be 
saved." 

But  Missions  have  reference  not  only  to  the  present  generation  but 
also  to  their  posterity.  Hence  missionary  work  proper  keeps  both 
classes  in  view,  and  includes  two  things: — first,  the  offer  of  salvation 
to  living  men  and  the  conversion  of  their  souls  ;  secondly,  the  train- 
ing of  these  converts  and  tlieir  organization  and  development  into 
a  steadfast,  active,  self-supporting  and  self-perpetuating  church. 

Without  the  former,  not  even  a  beginning  would  be  made.     With- 
out the  latter,  no  permanence  could  be  given  to  the  movement  and  no 
assurance  felt  that  the  work  would  go  on  in  after  time.     The  first  has 
special  reference  to  the  present  generation,  or  at  most  the  present  age ; 
(148) 


GENERAL    PRINCIPLES  14<) 

the  latter  looks  forward  to  other  generations  and  subsequent  ages. 
The  first  furnishes  the  material  out  of  which  that  self-propagating  or- 
ganism is  formed  which  is  expected  to  exhibit  perpetual  life.  Without 
the  former,  missionaries  might  better  stay  at  home  altogether  ;  with- 
out the  latter,  they  can  never  safely  abandon  the  field  and  return 
finally  to  their  native  land. 

The  conversion  of  souls  (a  missionary's  first  object)  comes  inevitably 
as  the  effect  of  regeneration.  Regeneration  is  a  divine  operation  ac- 
complished, in  the  case  of  responsible  persons,  by  the  power  of  the 
Spirit  through  the  presentation  of  gospel  truth.  It  is  a  sudden,  radi- 
cal, supernatural  change — called  in  the  Scriptures  a  new  birth,  or  a  new 
creation.  When  this  change  takes  place,  the  subject  naturally  turns  to 
God  and  holiness  ;    he  becomes  a  follower  of  Christ ;  he  is  converted. 

Usually  some  kind  of  preparation  precedes  this  change.  God  gen- 
erally manifests  his  regenerating  power  according  to  the  laws  of  the 
human  mind  and  of  that  moral  force, which  we  call  influence.  As  a 
rule  intellectual  belief  in  fundamental  error  is  removed  and  a  histori- 
cal belief  in  Christianity  created  before  the  crisis  comes.  Conviction 
of  sin  also  is  a  common  antecedent.  Hence,  the  value  of  science,  re- 
ligious controversy.  Christian  evidence  and  the  ten  commandments 
as  factors  in  missionary  work.  In  like  manner,  too,  there  is  often  a 
kindly  feeling  cherished  towards  Christians,  and  especially  Christian 
ministers,  by  those  whom  God  subsequently  calls  from  death  to  life. 
Hence,  the  value  of  good  example  and  benevolent  acts,  or  institutions, 
in  the  propagation  of  our  faith.  Reference  must  be  had  to  both  the  head 
and  the  heart  in  trying  to  convert  others.  But  this  preparation  may 
be  very  brief  in  point  of  time  and  very  slight  in  point  of  character — 
if  not,  to  all  human  view,  entirely  wanting  in  some  cases.  Certain  it 
is,  at  any  rate,  that  such  an  influence,  however  important  as  a  prepara- 
tion, is  not  the  direct  means,  any  more  than  it  is  the  efficient  cause, 
of  real  conversion.  The  appointed  means  through  whose  instrumen- 
tality divine  life  flows  from  the  Spirit  of  God  into  a  soul  is  some  Bible 
truth  ;  and  generally  the  truth  which  is  most  blessed  to  this  end  is 
what  we  call  simple  and  fundamental,  the  essence  of  the  gospel. 

But  plans  and  contrivances  are  necessary  to  secure  an  audience  and 
obtain  a  favorable  hearing  for  the  gospel.  Some  men  are  more  easily 
reached  in  one  way,  and  some  in  another ;  while  many  stand  aloof 
and  defy  almost  all  efforts  to  arrest  their  attention.  This  is  true  in 
every  land,  but  especially  in  heathen  lands. 


150  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

Hence  the  great  variety  of  methods  in  missionary  work. 
Perhaps  the  first  way  in  which  foreign  laborers  generally  begin  the 
spread  of  the  gospel  is  through  home  influence,  and  especially  family 
religion,  the  audience  being  their  own  domestics.  By  a  life  of  impar- 
tiality, justice,  honesty,  purity,  and  kindness  they  are  sometimes  ena- 
bled to  make  a  good  impression  upon  their  dependents  even  before  they 
can  speak  well  the  language  of  the  people.  Then,  as  soon  as  possible, 
family  worship  is  conducted  at  least  once  a  day  in  the  native  tongue, 
and  all  servants  are  expected  to  be,  and  generally  are,  present.  At 
this  service  the  Bible  is  read,  and  perhaps  explained,  and  God  is  ad- 
dressed at  the  throne  of  grace  in  simple  words.  It  may  be,  too,  that  a 
Psalm  is  sung.  The  whole  exercise,  repeated  in  varied  and  attractive 
forms,  is  naturally  impressive,  and  sometimes  leads  to  saving  results. 
And  then,  as  occasion  offers,  the  mistress  of  the  home  will  read  the 
Bible  to  her  only  female  servant  (the  ayah  or  nurse)  and  teach  her  in  a 
familiar  manner  the  way  of  salvation.  On  the  Sabbaths,  also,  when 
the  family  is  on  the  hills  or  at  a  distance  from  regular  preaching,  all 
are  called  together  at  a  suitable  hour  to  hear  a  more  extended  and 
formal  discourse  in  reference  to  divine  things  ;  nor  is  this  service  neg- 
lected wlien  the  sahib  is  absent  from  home,  as  is  often  the  case ;  for 
his  place  is  filled,  and  frequently  well  filled,  by  his  wife.  Indeed,  the 
mem-sahiba,  as  she  is  called,  is  the  more  powerful  factor  in  this  domes- 
tic missionary  work,  coming  in  contact  with  her  dependents,  as  she 
does,  so  frequently,  and  visiting  their  families  so  often  in  their  own 
houses,  especially  during  times  of  affliction. 

Of  the  value  of  this  method  of  work,  when  employed  in  a  proper 
manner  and  accompanied  by  sincere  prayer,  there  can  be  no  doubt. 
Beyond  the  missionary  circle,  too,  it  has  been  found  very  effective.  It  is 
said  that  almost  all  of  Gen.  Pryor's  servants  were  brought  thus  to  con- 
fess Christ.  The  sphere  is  not  large  ;  but  within  this  sphere  the  light 
may,  for  that  very  reason,  be  made  to  shine  all  the  more  powerfully. 

As  a  further  extension  of  this  method  comes  the  influence  which  a 
missionary  may  exert  over  his  employees.  When  itinerating,  superin- 
tending a  school  or  erecting  a  building,  he  always  has  under  him  a 
number  of  non-Christian  teachers  or  laborers.  The  relation  which  he 
sustains  to  them  forbids  anything  like  compulsion  in  religious  matters, 
and  often  requires  him  to  bear  patiently  with  their  superstitions  and 
Pharisaical  forms.  He  must  do  nothing  to  break  a  Hindu's  caste. 
He  must  allow  a  Muhammadan  to  say  his  prayers  as  frequently  as  his 


INFLUENCE   IN  SOCIAL    INTERCOURSE  151 

conscience,  or  his  desire  to  rest,  demands  such  an  exercise ;  and  that  is 
generally  pretty  often.*  But,  notwithstanding  this,  his  position  as 
employer  also  gives  a  missionary  the  oj^portunity  to  speak  a  word  occa- 
sionally in  behalf  of  his  own  faith  ;  and  by  tact,  with  the  blessing  of 
God,  he  may  sow  seed  which  will  afterwards  bring  forth  fruit.  Often 
a  very  tender  feeling  exists  between  an  old  employee  and  his  superior, 
and  on  this  feeling  through  divine  help  may  be  grafted  the  higher 
principles  of  spiritual  life.  At  any  rate  prejudices  against  Christianity 
may  thus  be  removed  from  the  hearts  of  bricklayers,  carpenters  and 
coolies,  and,  through  them,  from  the  hearts  of  a  whole  community  ; 
and  the  common  people  generally  may,  in  this  way,  even  acquire  an 
admiration  for  the  character  of  the  good  sahib,  who  has  ministered  so 
largely  to  their  temporal  necessities,  as  well  as  for  the  religion  which 
he  represents.  Thus  a  popular  sentiment  begins  to  spring  up  which  is 
favorable  to  the  spread  of  the  gospel  in  other  ways. 

Similar  to  this  in  some  respects  is  the  influence  which  a  missionary 
exerts  in  his  ordinary  intercourse  with  others.  Orientals,  at  least  the 
people  of  India,  are  sociable  in  their  nature  ;  and  there  is  no  subject 
upon  which  they  are  more  willing  to  converse  than  that  of  religion. 
Reverence  for  a  superior  Power,  or  Being,  is  grounded  in  their  nature 
so  fundamentally  that  the  absence  of  religious  sentiment,  and  religious 
profession,  in  any  one  is  considered  a  great  disgrace  ;  and  to  call  a 
man  be-din,  that  is  irreligious,  is  the  greatest  of  insults.  Skepticism 
and  agnosticism  are  foreign  products,  and  are  found  only  among 
Europeans,  or  those  educated  natives  who  have  come  under  the  influ- 
ence of  English  infidelity. 

Easy  then  is  it  to  draw  out  a  business  man,  a  loiterer,  or  a  fellow- 
traveler  on  the  subject  which  engrosses  a  missionary's  thoughts.  The 
reverse,  which  so  generally,  and,  I  may  say,  so  unreasonably,  prevails 
in  Christian  lands,  is  unknown  in  the  far  East.  A  companion's  feel- 
ings are  never  hurt  by  a  respectful  reference  to  his  religion.  And 
every  branch  of  the  theme,  too,  may  be  touched.  The  nature  of 
God's  being,  his  relation  to  the  universe,  his  modes  of  communication 

*Muhammadan  law  requires  its  adherents  to  pray  five  times  a  day: — ^just  before 
sunrise;  shortly  after  noon  ;  about  three  or  four  P.M.;  just  after  sunset,  and  when 
night  has  set  in.  At  three  other  periods  prayers  are  optional — namely,  when  the 
sun  is  well  up;  about  eleven  A.  M.,  and  after  midnight.  Each  prayer  is  preceded 
by  an  ablution  of  the  hands,  face  and  feet ;  and  the  whole  exercise  will  average  per- 
haps ten  minutes  in  length.     For  attitudes  in  prayer,  see  illustration,  p.  117. 


152  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

with  men,  human  depravity,  transmigration  of  souls,  the  consequences 
of  sin,  salvation,  nirvana,  temple  or  mosque  worship,  the  mysteries  of 
the  Christian  faith,  the  evidences  of  its  superiority  and  a  multitude  of 
similar  topics  may  be  discussed  without  offense.  Sometimes,  indeed, 
one  meets  with  scowling  pundits,  or  rabid  maulvies,  who  can  them- 
selves say  nothing  pleasant  to  a  Christian,  and  who  can  hear  nothing 
opposed  to  their  own  views  without  anger.  But  generally  the  reverse 
is  true. 

Hence,  a  great  opportunity  is  given  in  the  varied  experiences  of  so- 
cial intercourse  to  present  Christ  and  his  salvation.  As  the  mission- 
ary, or  the  native  Christian,  sits  in  a  banya' s  shop,  reposes  under  a 
pipal ox  a  banyan  tree,  trudges  along  a  country  road  on  fool,  stops  at  a 
bungalow  or  a  serai  (native  inn),  watches  the  farmers  at  work  in  their 
fields,  refreshes  himself  with  a  drink  at  some  shaded  well,  chats  with 
his  neighbors,  receives  calls  from  high-caste  babus,  travels  by  rail  or 
climbs  the  mountain  steep,  he  can  often  drop  a  remark,  or  present  a 
series  of  truths,  which  under  the  illumination  of  God's  Spirit  ends  in  a 
saving  result.  Well  do  I  remember  a  religious  talk  which  Dr.  Gordon 
gave  some  Himalayan  peasants  whom  we  met  at  Kala  Patthar — a  big, 
black-faced  stone  on  the  side  of  a  mountain  15,000  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  sea.  And  of  my  own  conversations  by  the  way,  one 
highly  interesting  is  recalled  which  was  held  with  a  Hindu  bachelor 
of  arts,  on  the  subject  of  prayer,  as  we  were  traveling  together  from 
Lala  Musa  to  Bhera. 

In  this  way,  too,  as  well  as  by  the  last  mentioned,  a  favorable  knowl- 
edge of  Christianity  is  diffused  among  the  masses  of  the  people,  and 
something  done  to  create  that  Christian  atmosphere  which,  it  is  hoped, 
will  one  day  envelop  the  whole  region  and  make  conversion  a  com- 
paratively easy,  natural  and  common  process. 

And  here,  before  advancing  further,  it  might  be  well  perhaps  to  cor- 
rect some  false  impressions  which  are  abroad  in  certain  quarters. 

One  is  that  we  can  readily  classify  conversions  so  as  to  designate 
definitely  by  what  methods  they  were  secured.  Occasionally,  indeed, 
this  may  be  done.  Where  a  new  convert  has  been  reached  only  by 
one  method,  or  where  his  religious  experience  is  so  distinct  that  he  can 
point  out  the  exact  influence  which  has  been  used  by  the  Spirit  for  his 
great  change,  we  may  feel  some  certainty  in  regard  to  the  matter — ^just 
as,  on  the  other  hand,  when  a  particular  method  has  lain  entirely  out- 
side the  range  of  anew  convert's  experience,  we  may  confidently  assert 


FALSE   IMPRESSIONS   CORRECTED 


153 


that  it  has  liad  no  influence  over  him.  But  in  the  case  of  many  con- 
verts no  such  definite  judgment  can  be  given.  Where  missionary 
methods  are  numerous,  and  often  widely  brought  into  use,  and  over- 
lap one  another,  and  where  inquirers,  before  taking  a  stand  for  Christ, 
touch  missionary  work  at  many  points,  it  is  frequently  impossible  to 
say  just  under  what  influence  the  tide  began  to  turn. 


IJANYAN    TREE   AND    WELL. 
{Fro?n  a  Punjabi  drawing. ) 


Equally  difficult,  therefore,  is  it  for  a  missionary,  or  a  native 
worker,  to  decide  that  this  convert,  or  that,  has  been  the  fruit  of  his 
own  individual  labor.  In  inducing  persons  to  enlist  in  the  work  of 
foreign  missions,  too  much  stress  has  sometimes  been  laid  upon  the 
idea  that,  while   in  Christian  lands  much  uncertainty  prevails  on   the 


154  LIFE   AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

subject,  in  heathen  countries  a  minister  may  be  quite  sure  what  souls 
have  been  given  to  him  for  his  hire — that  is,  he  can  positively  say  in 
regard  to  many  professed  Christians,  "  These  have  been  given  me  as 
my  crown  of  rejoicing;  I  alone  have  been  made  the  instrument  of 
their  conversion,"  But  in  comparatively  few  cases  can  Christian 
laborers  there,  any  more  than  here,  and  especially  foreign  missionaries, 
make  such  assertions  with  any  degree  of  confidence.  Fellow-workers, 
fellow-Christians,  Bibles,  tracts  and  otlier  agents  or  means  of  influence, 
are  so  numerous,  and  gospel  methods  are  so  dove-tailed  one  into 
tlie  other,  that  we  are  compelled  to  say,  "Not  unto  us,  O  Lord,  not 
unto  us,  but  unto  thy  name  give  glory."  Blessed,  indeed,  is  it  to  feel 
that  one  has  a  share  in  the  movement — a  part  in  founding  God's  church 
where  other  men  have  not  labored;  but  for  his  full  and  exact  hire  every 
one  must  wait  until  results  are  classified  by  an  infallible  hand  and 
each  "shall  receive  liis  own  reward  according  to  his  own  labor." 

And  in  harmony  with  all  this  may  be  observed  the  difficulty  of  de- 
termining the  relative  value  of  different  methods  of  missionary  work. 
Of  course  we  may  look  at  them  a  p7'iori,  and  determine  which  are  more 
or  less  likely  to  accomplish  the  end  in  view  ;  we  may  notice  how  far 
they  correspond  with  the  principles  of  human  nature  or  the  examples 
and  the  teachings  of  God's  word;  we  may  tell  whether  they  tend  to 
exalt  liuman  rather  than  divine  wisdom,  or  civilization  and  culture 
rather  than  holiness  ;  we  may  note  whether  they  give  many  and  favor- 
able opportunities  for  religious  effort,  or  the  contrary  ;  we  may  even 
broadly  make  an  estimate  of  their  different  results  in  the  past  and  ascer- 
tain which  upon  the  whole  is  apparently  most  useful.  But  at  best  the 
comparison  is  an  imperfect  one  and  should  always  be  made  with  great 
respect  for  contrary  views. 

Returning  from  this  Vief  digression,  it  should  perhaps  be  remarked 
next  that  the  first  formal  evangelistic  work  which  a  missionary  is  likely 
to  undertake,  especially  if  he  be  a  pioneer,  is  that  of  bazar  preach- 
ing. A  bazar  is  a  street,  or  a  square,  where  common  business  is  done 
and  where  crowds  assemble.  There  the  shops,  or  stores,  are  found. 
There  merchandise  is  sold  or  exchanged.  A  town,  or  city,  may  have 
several  bazars,  such  as  the  grain  bazar  and  the  shawl  bazar  ;  but  gen- 
erally one  of  these  is  more  prominent  than  the  rest  and  hence  is  called 
the  sadr,  or  big  bazar. 

Bazar  preaching  is  therefore  what  we  call  street  preaching  at  home. 
Against  this  method  of  operation  laws  in  India  are  not  very  strict,  or 


(155) 


156  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

at  least  not  very  rigidly  enforced.  Fakirs  of  all  kinds,  jugglers  and 
mountebanks  may  stop  almost  anywhere  in  the  place  of  general  con- 
course and  for  a  time  exhibit  their  shows,  or  perform  their  pranks.  No 
one  is  likely  to  disturb  them.  So  is  it  with  the  representatives  of  dif- 
ferent religious  faiths.  The  bazar  is  comparatively  free  for  the  prop- 
agation of  their  tenets,  or  at  least  practically  free.  Christian  work- 
ers, therefore,  avail  themselves  of  the  liberty  of  there  making  known 
the  gospel. 

If  a  foreign  missionary  be  present  little  difficulty  is  experienced  in 
securing  an  audience.  Curiosity  will  lead  people  to  crowd  around  a 
white  man.  They  want  to  get  a  close  view  of  his  odd  hat,  dress, 
traveling  rig*  and  manners,  and  see  how  he  can  talk  their  language. 
Like  the  Athenians  also,  they  often  wish  to  hear  what  the  "  babbler  " 
has  to  say.  They  take  a  certain  kind  of  delight  in  the  "  strange 
things"  that  are  brought  to  their  ears.  At  least  what  they  see  and 
hear  gives  them  occasion  and  materials  for  gossip. 

Should  the  collection  of  an  audience  be  delayed,  however,  perhaps 
some  one  strikes  up  a  spiritual  song — either  a  Psalm  set  to  Western  music, 
or  a  bhajan — and  is  joined  in  singing  by  his  companions.  In  some 
Missions  a  concertina,  cornet  or  other  musical  instrument  is  often  em- 
ployed. In  either  case  the  exercise  is  almost  sure  to  arrest  the  atten- 
tion of  wayfarers.  Music  has  charms  to  soothe  and  please  the  Indian  ear. 
In  rare  instances,  pictures,  religious  or  otherwise,  are  presented  to  at- 
tract the  eye — either  with  or  without  a  magic  lantern.  Very  often, 
however,  a  bazar  preacher,  without  any  other  preliminary,  immedi- 
ately begins  with  the  reading  of  God's  Word.  This  itself  will  draw 
people  around  him  in  most  cases. 

And,  however  the  audience  may  have  been  secured,  such  an  exercise 
as  this  at  any  rate  almost  always  forms  the  first  part  of  the  service 
proper.  Nothing  is  more  likely  to  win  the  hearers  under  such  circum- 
stances. Indian  people  of  all  classes  have  great  reverence  for  any 
Book  which  claims  to  be  of  divine  origin.  The  preacher  may  be  falli- 
ble;  but  if  he  has  a  "Thus  saith  the  Lord  "  for  what  he  proclaims, 
prejudice  is  disarmed.  The  authenticity  and  the  genuineness  of  the 
volume  are  matters  of  secondary  consideration,  and  do  not  affect  the 
primary  attitude  of  their  minds. 

Generally  a  plain  passage  of  Scripture  is  selected — a  parable,  or  a 
miracle,  the  story  of  Christ's  death,  the  history  of  the  fall  of  our  first 
*  A  bicycle  attracts  multitudes. 


BAZAR   PREACHING  157 

parents,  or  a  description  of  human  depravity  ;  and  this,  or  the  Psahii 
sung,  becomes  the  basis  of  an  address  which  is  made  as  practical  and 
personal  as  possible.  Remarks  are  also  offered  by  others  besides  the 
principal  speaker,  and  variety  introduced.  But,  for  obvious  reasons, 
prayer  is  frequently  omitted. 

While  these  exercises  are  in  progress  the  audience  is  constantly 
changing.  One  man  goes  and  another  comes.  There  may  indeed  be 
an  entire  alteration  of  the  constituent  elements  of  the  assembly. 
Only  one  thing  is  certain  :  all  will  be  men.  If  a  woman  hears  any- 
thing it  will  be  through  a  latticed  window  overhead,  or  from  the  coun- 
ter of  a  neighboring  salesman  where  she  is  transacting  business  ;  possi- 
bly from  the  roof  of  a  house  which  forms  part  of  her  zenana. 

In  its  primitive  form  bazar  preaching  means  that  the  preacher  must 
stand  on  the  public  highway  and  proclaim  his  message.  But  a  banya 
often  allows  you  to  sit  on  his  counter,*  or,  if  he  has  such  an  article, 
will  offer  you  a  chair,  which,  under  the  circumstances,  is  a  great  boon. 
As  the  years  roll  on,  too,  some  shop  will  be  hired  and  made  the  basis 
of  operations — serving  not  only  as  a  bookstore,  or  a  reading-room,  but 
also  as  a  point  where  morning  and  evening  the  gospel  may  be  pro- 
claimed to  passers-by.  Such  centers  have  been  established  in  Jhelum, 
Pathankot,  Sialkot,  and  perhaps  other  places.  Where  this  is  the  case, 
even  if  the  police  should  appear  and  order  your  hearers  to  "  move 
on,"  you  are  yourself  perfectly  secure,  sitting  as  you  do  in  your  own 
rented  house. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  by  any  that  quietness  is  the  distinguishing 
characteristic  of  a  bazar  audience.  Far  from  it.  Many  persons,  indeed, 
listen  respectfully  and  make  no  sign  of  either  approval  or  disapproval. 
But  it  is  different  with  others.  A  few  exhibit  astonishment  at  the  good 
news.  Some,  especially  Hindus,  will  cry  out  "That's  all  true,"  or 
*'  The  Sahib  is  right,"  or  "  Your  religion  is  good  for  you,  and  ours  is 
good  for  us;  let  every  one  follow  the  path  that  his  fathers  trod." 
Some  will  ask  questions — often  of  the  most  difficult  or  irrelevant  char- 
acter— and  try  to  embarrass  the  preacher  or  get  up  a  laugh  at  his  ex- 
pense. Some — Muhammadan  bigots  or  Aryans,  for  instance — will 
present  objections,   or  flatly  contradict  the  speaker,  reading  perhaps 

*  This  is  simply  the  front  edge  of  the  floor  of  his  stall.  It  faces  the  street  and  is 
two  feet  or  two  and  one-half  feet  high.  Any  one  who  has  ever  seen  the  shops  of 
Pompeii  or  of  modern  Italian  towns  can  easily  understand  the  architecture  of  our 
Indian  bazars. 


158  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

out  of  the  Koran,  or  an  infidel  book,  to  establish  their  points  ;  and 
frequently  bystanders  of  this  class  will  try  to  break  up  the  meeting, 
or  turn  it  into  an  assemblage  for  the  propagation  of  their  own  religious 
views.  Occasionally,  too,  they  carry  their  violence  so  far  that  the  po- 
lice are  asked  to  interfere  and  quell  disturbance. 

As  might  be  supposed,  therefore,  every  one  does  not  make  a  good 
bazar  preacher.  Ready  wit,  a  quick  ear  and  a  nimble  tongue  are  nec- 
essary for  success  in  this  capacity — also  that  mysterious  power  by 
which  men  can  naturally  overawe  opposition  and  keep  a  restless  audi- 
ence under  control. 

Of  the  value  of  this  metliod  of  evangelization  on  the  whole,  how- 
ever, there  can  be  no  doubt.  In  some  cases  definite  conversions  are 
reported  ;  in  others,  persons  are  led  to  become  inquirers  and  frequent 
callers  on  the  missionary  or  his  assistants — the  final  result  being  a  full 
confession  of  faith.  Often  men  hear  something  of  Christ  in  this  way 
who  are  never  otherwise  brought  within  the  sound  of  the  gospel.  An 
opportunity  is  thus  given  also  to  discover  the  spontaneous  sentiments 
of  the  people,  their  great  difficulties,  and  the  objections  that  active 
opponents  make  to  the  truth  which  we  proclaim.  Even  the  wrangles 
which  are  started  and  the  bitter  words  which  are  sometimes  spoken  by 
enemies,  may  be  so  managed,  or  answered,  as  to  secure  the  complete 
discomfiture  of  our  assailants  and  turn  the  tide  of  general  feeling  in 
our  favor.  A  quick  and  happy  repartee  will  often  drive  an  opponent 
disarmed  from  the  field.  While,  then,  bazar  preaching  is  a  difficult 
mode  of  evangelism,  and  should  not  be  employed  by  those  who  are  con- 
stitutionally unfitted  for  it,  and  while  its  place  is  no  doubt  being 
gradually  taken  by  bazar  chapels,  and  other  methods  of  work  which 
are  quieter  and  more  successful,  it  is  not  only  one  of  the  most  interest- 
ing and  picturesque  ways  of  preaching  Christ,  but  it  has  also  been  an 
important  agency  in  the  spread  of  the  glad  tidings  of  salvation  and  the 
diff"usion  of  that  knowledge  without  which  the  heathen  must  perish. 

Of  a  quieter  and  perhaps  more  useful  character  is  what  may  be  called 
back  street,  private  court,  or  mahalla  preaching.  This  takes 
place  beyond  the  din  of  the  bazar,  in  some  retired  part  of  the  town  or 
cit)' — on  a  vacant  lot,  at  a  point  where  several  ways  meet,  or  in  the 
outer  court  of  some  friendly  man's  house.  Perhaps  the  people  of  the 
neighborhood  are  brought  together  by  previous  visits  to  their  houses, 
or  messengers  sent  to  announce  the  time  and  the  place  of  preaching  ; 
or  perhaps  a  drum,  singing,  or  a  display  of  pictures  answers  the  same 


PREACHING   AT  MELAS 


159 


purpose.  Generally  a  light  bedstead,  called  a  charpai,  is  brought  out 
for  the  preacher  to  sit  upon.  Here,  as  in  the  bazar,  the  main  part  of 
the  hearers  will  be  men  ;  but  frequently  women  also  are  seen  peeping 
around  the  corners  of  the  walls  or  over  the  edges  of  the  house  roofs. 
Besides  the  freedom  from  disturbance  which  this  method  usually  brings, 
it  also  insures  a  more  homogeneous  company  of  listeners,  and  the  mes- 
senger of  divine  truth  can  regulate  his  thoughts  and  words  accordingly. 


/     ii        .A/ 


GREAT  MELA  AT  HARDWAR — HINDUS  BATHING. 


Each  mahalhi,  or  ward,  is  generally  inhabited  almost  exclusively  by 
one  kind  of  people — Hindus,  Muhammadans,  Sikhs  or  some  other  class. 
Moreover,  when  the  service  is  finished  at  one  point  the  preacher  and 
his  assistant  can  move  on  to  another  quarter  and  obtain  a  new  audience. 
Thus  a  great  variety  of  work  can  be  done  and  a  large  number  of  hear- 
ers can  be  reached. 

Preaching  at  melas  partakes  very  largely  of  the  characteristics  of 


160  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

bazar  preaching.  A  mela  (or  fair)  is  a  great  gathering  of  people  as- 
sembled for  the  purpose  of  celebrating  some  religious  event,  or  for  com- 
mercial purposes ;  and  very  often  both  objects  are  combined.  It  also 
provides  an  occasion  for  friendly  intercourse  and  for  amusements  of 
every  description.  Almost  always  such  melas  are  held  at  stated  places 
— near  a  temple,  a  shrine  or  a  celebrated  tomb.  Every  one,  too,  has 
its  appointed  season — generally  annual,  but  sometimes  after  longer  in- 
tervals. 

Of  these  there  are  two  each  in  our  Sialkot  and  Gurdaspur  fields  of 
sufficient  importance  to  be  specially  mentioned — besides  others  else- 
where. One  is  that  held  in  April  at  the  shrine  called  Ber  Baba  Nanak 
near  Sialkot.  Here  the  Baisakhi  festival  at  the  commencement  of  the 
new  Hindu  year  is  kept  with  great  rejoicing,  as  many  as  ten  or  fifteen 
thousand  people  being  sometimes  in  attendance.  Another  is  the  cattle 
fair  held  at  Gulu  Shah's  tomb,  about  six  miles  from  Pasrur,  "  which 
lasts  a  week  and  on  the  principal  day  (September  21st)  is  attended  by 
over  70,000  persons,  who  come  from  all  parts  of  the  province."  The 
two  belonging  to  our  Gurdaspur  field  are  held — one  at  Kalanaur,  in 
March,  and  the  other  at  Pindori,  seven  miles  east  of  Gurdaspur  City, 
in  April.  Gujranwala  District  also  furnishes  some  important  fairs, 
especially  one  of  the  Sikhs  at  Eminabad,  and  one,  which  lasts  a  month, 
at  Drunkel,  in  honor  of  Pir  Lakh  Datta. 

When  a  Christian  laborer  wishes  to  proclaim  the  gospel  at  such 
places  he  usually  puts  up  one  or  more  tents  and  provides  sittings  (mats 
or  benches)  for  a  large  number  of  people.  This  indicates  that  he 
"  means  business,"  encourages  people  to  tarry  and  listen,  and  insures 
better  order  than  he  would  have  in  a  tired,  restless,  standing  crowd — 
to  say  nothing  of  the  comfort  which  it  brings  to  himself.  He  also 
secures  as  many  assistants  as  possible,  so  as  to  keep  the  time  fully  oc- 
cujjied  and  provide  variety  of  entertainment.  Sometimes  the  whole 
working  force  of  a  District  may  be  called  in  for  such  occasions.  And 
then,  to  obtain  the  best  results,  the  speakers  will  be  thoroughly  or- 
ganized for  their  particular  work,  study  up  specially  assigned  subjects 
and  come  prepared  to  make  effective  addresses.  Psalms  also  are  often 
sung  at  intervals,  tracts  distributed  and  every  effort  made  to  impress 
and  instruct  the  people. 

Were  it  not  for  the  general  din  and  confusion  of  the  mela,  a  con- 
gregation of  500  or  1000  persons  might  often  be  collected  within  the 
sound  of  the  preacher's  voice  ;  but,  owing  to  the  cause  mentioned,  not 


RESULTS    OF  PREACHING  AT  ME  LAS 


161 


more  than  about  200  can  comfortably  hear  the  gospel  at  any  one  time. 
Still  the  results  are  sometimes  wonderful.  Frequently  persons  have 
been  brought  to  confess  Christ  then  and  there,  and  some  have  even 
broken  caste  and  received  baptism  before  the  assembled  throng.  This 
was  a  common  experience  under 
the  preaching  of  the  Rev.  S. 
Knowles  of  the  M.  E.  Mission, 
Gonda.  But  such  baptisms 
were  discouraged  within  our 
own  field,  and  at  last  by  the 
Methodists  themselves — partly 
because  there  was  so  little  op- 
portunity of  testing  the  genuine- 
ness of  the  conversions,  and 
partly  because  the  applicants 
often  lived  at  a  great  distance, 
even  beyond  the  bounds  of  the 
minister's  mission  territory,  and 
the  initial  step  could  not  be  fol- 
lowed up  with  suitable  pastoral 
care  and  instruction. 

Like  bazar  preaching,  how- 
ever, preaching  at  melas  helps 
much  the  diffusion  of  gospel 
light  and  the  preparation  for 
successful  work  in  other  ways. 

In  1883  some  men  from  the  neighborhood  of  the  Ravi  river  came 
to  our  missionaries  in  Gurdaspar  and  Zafarwal  for  baptism,  who  had 
heard  the  gospel  at  a  mela  and  had  thus  become  convinced  of  its 
truth  ;  and,  after  inquiry,  it  was  found  that  the  good  leaven  had  spread 
in  their  neighborhood  to  such  an  extent,  through  their  instrumentality, 
as  to  affect  many  villages  and  over  200  people. 


SEARCHING   THE   JUNGLE. 


11 


CHAPTER  XVI 


EVANGELISTIC  WORK— II 

The  Educational  Policy — Dr.  Duffs  Course — Government  Education,  its  History 
and  Provisions — Mission  Schools — Their  Laclt  of  Conversions — Causes — 
Arguments  Against  the  Educational  Policy — Arguments  in  Favor  of  it — 
Present  Duty — Policy  of  the  U.  P.  Mission — Conclusion. 

Y   an    educational    method   of    evangelism    is   meant    that 

which  contemplates  the  conversion  of  the   young   through 

the   opportunities  given,   and  the  influence   acquired,   in 

training  their  minds  and  communicating  to  them  secular 

knowledge. 

The  Rev.  Alexander  Duff",  D.D.,  LL.D.,  is  usually  considered  the 
founder  of  this  policy.  He  landed  at  Calcutta  May  27,  1830,  and 
several  weeks  afterward,  in  accordance  with  his  instructions,  opened 
up  a  school  in  that  city  which  soon  grew  into  a  college.  This  policy, 
as  has  been  remarked,  "  was  to  substitute  for  the  existing  evangelistic 
work  amongst  the  lower  classes  of  Indian  Society  an  educational  work 
among  the  Brahmans.  It  was  maintained  that  in  this  way  Hinduism 
would  be  attacked  at  its  heart,  that  when  once  the  influence  of  Western 
science  and  philosophy  had  been  brought  to  bear  upon  the  philosophy 
and  the  pseudo-science  of  Hinduism,  the  whole  system  would  crumble 
to  the  dust ;  and,  over  and  above  all  else,  that  as  the  Brahmans  were 
the  recognized  leaders  of  Hindu  life,  their  conversion  would  be 
speedily  followed  by  the  conversion  of  the  whole  nation."*  As  he 
himself  said  to  the  people  of  Scotland,  "  We  shall,  with  the  blessing 
of  God,  devote  our  time  and  strength  to  the  preparation  of  a  mine, 
and  the  setting  of  a  train,  which  shall  one  day  explode  and  tear  up  the 
whole  from  its  lowest  depths." 

His  college  soon  became  a  great  success.  More  than  one  thousand 
names  were  found  on  its  rolls.     Lord  Wm.  Bentinck,   the  Governor- 


*  Methodist  Times. 


(162) 


GOVERNMENT  EDUCATION  IN  INDIA  163 

General  of  the  day,  pronounced  the  result,  in  an  educational  point  of 
view,  unparalleled.  "  From  the  very  first,  too,  the  Bible  itself  was  made 
a  school-book  and  class-book,  and  so  made  distinctly,  avowedly  and 
exclusively  for  religious  and  devotional  exercises."  * 

Evangelistic  and  missionary  services  in  the  English  language  were 
also  carried  on  outside  of  the  college  by  the  principal  and  his  associ- 
ates, and  their  successors.  And,  as  the  consequence  of  all,  many  im- 
portant conversions  took  place.  Dr.  Duff's  converts  were  for  fifty 
years  frequently  seen  in  different  parts  of  India,  and  they  vv^ere  also 
considered  an  important  and  influential  class  of  Christians. 

Later,  however,  a  marked  change  in  the  situation  took  place.  The 
education  of  the  people  was  recognized  as  a  duty  of  the  government, 
and  colleges  and  schools  were  opened  up  under  its  management  and 
support.  In  1854,  too,  a  comprehensive  despatch  on  the  subject  was 
sent  out  to  India  by  Sir  Charles  Wood  (afterwards  Lord  Halifax)  which 
is  called  the  basis  and  charter  of  the  present  educational  system,  hav- 
ing been  confirmed  by  subsequent  administrations. 

Under  the  stimulus  thus  given,  schools  of  every  grade  sprang  up  in 
all  important  places.  Some  of  them  were  started,  managed  and  sup- 
ported altogether  by  the  Provincial  Governments  themselves ;  but 
many  were  simply  aided  schools  managed  by  local  bodies,  or  religious 
societies.  In  189 1  tlie  total  number  of  educational  institutions  of  all 
sorts  in  India  was  138,054,  attended  by  an  aggregate  of  3,682,707 
pupils — showing  an  average  of  about  one  school  to  every  eleven  and 
one-half  square  miles  of  territory  and  one  pupil  to  every  seventy-eight 
of  the  whole  population.  Many  of  these  institutions  are  colleges  and 
high  schools,  or  in  otlier  words,  schools  directly  preparing  for  college. 
Of  the  former  there  are  now  105  arts  colleges,  with  12,165  students, 
and  special  schools  for  the  professions,  containing  3424  students. 

In  each  Province,  too,  a  Director  of  Public  Instruction  was  ap- 
pointed, with  assistants  of  every  kind,  and  especially  Inspectors  of 
every  grade,  whose  duty  it  is  to  visit  regularly  all  schools  having  any 
connection  with  the  government  system  and  see  that  they  come  up 
in  every  particular  to  the  required  standard. 

More  than  this,  several  Universities  were  established,  cliiefly  on  the 
model    of   the    University   of    London.     Three   of    these — Calcutta, 

*Badley's  Directory.  \  See  also  pp.  121,  122  and  165. 


164  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

Madras  and  Bombay — were  incorporated  in  1857.  The  University  of 
the  N.  W,  Provinces  is  of  more  recent  origin,  as  also  is  the  Punjab 
University.  The  latter  was  called  into  existence  October  14,  1882; 
but  its  work  had  been  virtually  performed  since  1870  by  the  Punjab 
University  College.  These  Universities  are  almost  exclusively  examin- 
ing bodies,  with  the  privilege  of  conferring  degrees  in  arts,  law, 
medicine  and  civil  engineering.  "  Though  not  themselves  places  of 
instruction,  the  Universities  control  the  whole  course  of  higher  edu- 
cation by  means  of  their  examinations.  Tlie  entrance  examination  for 
matriculation  is  open  to  all,  but  when  that  is  passed,  candidates  for 
higher  stages  must  enroll  themselves  in  one  or  other  of  the  affiliated 
colleges."  * 

A  ten  year's  course  of  study  precedes  matriculation — three  in  the 
Lower  Primary ;  two  in  the  Upper  Primary ;  three  in  the  Middle  and 
two  in  what  is  called  the  Entrance.  In  the  college  course  jDroper  there 
are  four  years — two  up  to  F.  A.  and  two  more  to  B.  A.  Then  there 
are  special  courses  for  M.  A.  and  a  dozen  other  degrees. 

In  1881-2  a  viceregal  Education  Committee  was  employed  to  inquire 
into  the  condition  and  needs  of  the  whole  system  and  suggest  changes. 
The  modifications  recommended  by  this  Commission  were  chiefly 
those  that  would  bring  it  more  fully  into  accord  with  the  principles  of 
the  great  despatch  of  1S54,  which  hitherto  had  been  only  imperfectly 
followed.  That  despatch,  while  recognizing  as  a  government  function 
the  education  of  the  people,  provided  for  the  restriction  of  efforts  in 
behalf  of  higher  education,  which  could  only  be  reached  by  the  few, 
and  the  increase  of  efforts  to  diffuse  elementary  education  among  the 
many.  It  also  provided  that  high-class  institutions  "should  be  pro- 
moted, not  so  much  by  direct  government  action  as  by  giving  grants- 
in-aid,  and  by  special  attention  to  help  on  independent  efforts  to 
educate  the  masses." 

The  modifications  proposed  by  the  Education  Commission  began  to 
be  introduced  in  the  Punjab  on  April  i,  1886,  which  forms  on  that  ac- 
count a  marked  era  in  our  Punjab  educational  history.  The  chief 
changes  made  were,  first,  the  transferrence  of  more  power  to  Munici- 
pal Committees  and  other  local  bodies ;  secondly,  the  requisition  of 
heavier  fees  from  high-grade  students;  thirdly,  the  payment  of  grants- 

*Sir  William  Hunter. 


MISSION  SCHOOLS  165 

in-aid,  not  by  special  enactment,  but  according  to  results  ;  and  fourthly, 
the  commencement  of  zaviindari  (or  farmers')  schools,  with  a  special 
course  of  study.* 

As  missionaries  had  been  pioneers  in  educational  work,  so  they 
adapted  themselves  to  the  governmental  system  as  it  developed  from 
time  to  time,  and  utilized  it  as  far  as  they  could  for  the  purpose  of  dis- 
seminating Bible  truth  and  converting  souls.  Indeed  mission  schools 
of  every  grade  are  reckoned  among  the  best  in  India.  Presbyterians 
especially  have  taken  an  advanced  position  in  the  work  of  high  educa- 
tion. Of  all  the  matriculations  reported  by  Protestant  Missions  in 
India  from  1872  to  1890,  more  than  forty-five  per  cent,  are  credited  to 
Presbyterians;  while  of  F.  A.s  they  claimed  more  than  seventy-seven 
per  cent.,  of  B.  A.s  more  than  ninety-one  per  cent.,  and  of  M.  A.s 
seventy-four  out  of  a  total  of  seventy-five ;  and  had  the  Bombay  Free 
Church  College  reported  its  results  it  is  probable  that  these  percent- 
ages would  have  been  materially  increased.  The  Free  Church  of  Scot- 
land, too,  it  should  be  remarked,  excels  all  the  rest  of  its  order  in  this 
department  and  may  be  termed  the  leading  educational  missionary 
body  of  that  land.  Of  high  schools  also,  Presbyterians  have  a  much 
larger  proportionate  share  than  any  other  ecclesiastical  family  in  India, 
unless  it  be  the  Congregational. 

The  number  of  conversions,  however,  secured  by  this  method  of 
"  missionating  "  is  now  confessedly  much  below  what  it  was  at  the 
beginning;  and,  as  a  consequence,  those  denominations  which  have 
devoted  much  of  their  strength  to  it  have  follen  far  behind  others  in 
the  evangelization  of  their  field. 

Some  of  the  reasons  for  this  result  are  obvious. 

First,  it  is  probable  that  there  has  not  been  for  some  years  as  much 
earnest,  prayerful  and  persistent  effort  to  save  souls  through  educa- 
tional work  as  there  once  was.  This  is  owing  to  various  causes. 
(i)  The  University  system  now  dominates  the  whole  movement  and 

*  While,  absolutely  considered,  great  progress  has  been  effected  in  educational 
work  since  it  was  commenced  by  the  British  in  India,  it  must  not  l)e  imagined  by  any 
one  that,  relatively  considered,  this  work  has  made  much  headway.  Where  only  one 
in  seventy-eight  of  the  population  is  a  school  pupil  and  less  than  six  per  cent,  of  the 
people  can  read  or  write  in  any  tongue,  and  only  one  in  800  can  read  and  write 
English,  there  is  evidently  much,  and  very  much,  yet  to  be  done.  Especially  is 
this  so  in  the  case  of  females,  of  whom  it  is  said  only  one  in  173  can  read  and 
write.     See  pp.  121,  122  and  163. 


166  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

leads  mission  schools,  as  well  as  others,  to  aim  not  so  much  at  spiritual 
as  educational  results.  The  great  ambition  among  pupils  is  to  pass 
their  examinations,  secure  their  certificates,  or  diplomas,  and  prepare 
themselves  for  positions  in  government  service,  or  elsewhere.  For  this 
object,  too,  more  than  anything  else,  all  non-Christian  teachers  and 
inspectors  labor  in  behalf  of  the  pupils ;  and  too  frequently  the  same 
thing  becomes,  consciously  or  unconsciously,  the  leading  aim  of 
Christian  teachers,  and  even  of  missionary  superintendents  and  pro- 
fessors themselves.  Conversion  of  souls  becomes  a  secondary  matter. 
(2)  Again,  mission  high  schools  and  colleges  are  largely  dependent 
upon  fees  for  support  and  must  be  managed  so  as  to  please  the  pupils 
and  hasten  their  educational  advancement,  or  lliey  will  become  un- 
popular and  fall  to  the  rear.  Religious  instruction  is  therefore  given 
at  a  disadvantage  and  is  likely  to  degenerate  into  a  merely  literary 
exercise  or  a  means  of  intellectual  stimulus.  (3)  Again,  as  govern- 
ment grants-in-aid  are  regulated  in  amount  by  the  size  of  the  roll,  the 
attendance  of  the  scholars,  success  at  examinations  and  other  similar 
considerations,  managers  of  mission  schools  are  strongly  tempted  to 
make  everything  bend  in  this  direction  ;  and,  as  Bible  teaching  counts 
for  nothing  pecuniarily,  it  is  in  danger  of  being  neglected.  (4)  Again, 
owing  to  the  fact  that  there  are  now  many  rival,  non-Christian  schools, 
mission  institutions  cannot  be  as  independent  as  they  were  in  the  days 
of  Dr.  Duff  and  cannot  regulate  their  course  altogether  to  suit  the 
highest  ends  of  religious  work.  (5)  Again,  the  conversion  of  a  pupil, 
culminating  in  baptism,  always  makes  a  great  commotion,  disturbs  the 
discipline  of  a  school,  and  sometimes  almost  destroys  it — a  conse- 
quence which  its  managers  will  try  to  avoid.  (6)  Finally,  the  idea 
that  educational  missionaries  should  aim  primarily  and  especially  at 
the  Christianization  of  their  pupils  seems  to  have  been  distinctly 
abandoned  by  some.  One  of  the  professors  in  one  of  the  leading 
Christian  colleges  of  India  is  said  to  have  written  as  follows:  "  'AH 
we  want  you  to  remember,'  some  one  has  said,  *  is  that  you  are  mission- 
aries first  and  educationists  after.'  That  is  the  very  point  that  I  deny. 
We  are  not  missionaries  first  and  educationists  after,  but  missionaries 
in,  and  through  and  by  education,  and  it  is  only  as  we  realize  this  that 
our  work  can  become  truly  and  permanently  effective.  If  we  are  to 
regard  our  schools  and  colleges  as  preaching  places  where  the  instruc- 
tion we  give  in  philosophy,  science  and  history  is  an  entirely  sub- 
ordinate thing,  performing  merely  the  function  of  attraction,  like  the 


OBJECTIONS    TO    THE   EDUCATIONAL  POLICY  1G7 

drum  of  the  Salvation  Army  or  the  orchestra  at  St.  James'  Hall,  then 
I  for  one  say,  Let  us  give  them  up,  and  hand  over  the  work  of  educa- 
tion to  those  who  will  do  it  honestly." 

But  even  when  religious  impressions  are  made  on  pupils  during 
school  hours,  they  are  probably  not  now  followed  up  as  fully  and  per- 
sistently as  they  once  were  by  private  evangelistic  efforts ;  and  this  is 
another  reason  why  educational  work  is  not  so  successful  in  converting 
pupils  as  it  was  in  former  days. 

More  than  this :  when  the  educational  policy  was  started  there  were 
not  many  half-way  houses  between  Christianity  and  heathenism,  where 
pupils,  disgusted  with  gross  idolatry  and  only  partly  convinced  of  the 
truth  of  Bible  doctrines,  could  rest  and  gratify  their  reforming  tenden- 
cies. Now  we  have  the  Brahma  Samaj,  the  Arya  Saniaj,  the  Deva 
Dharm  Samaj,  and  other  similar  organizations.  Here  the  awakened 
are  likely  to  go  and  stay. 

And  then  God's  plan,  from  the  days  of  the  apostles,  seems  to  have 
ever  been  to  advance  the  spread  of  the  gospel  more  among  the  poor, 
the  despised  and  the  downtrodden  than  among  the  rich,  the  proud  and 
the  domineering.  In  every  age  and  country  it  has  been  comparatively 
true,  that  "not  many  mighty,  not  many  noble  are  called."  "God 
hath  chosen  the  foolisli  things  of  the  world  to  confound  the  wise."  * 
No  wonder  then  that  Educational  Missions,  which  work  mostly  among 
high-caste  people,  make  a  less  favorable  show  in  church  statistics  than 
those  that  pursue  a  different  policy. 

As  a  consequence  of  the  long-continued  paucity  of  converts  from  this 
policy  many  missionaries  attack  it  as  entirely  unjustifiable,  and  in  do- 
ing so  bring  up  additional  objections,  which  they  consider  overwhelm- 
ing. They  say  that  it  is  not  the  plan  of  Christ  and  his  apostles ;  that 
Paul's  preaching  in  the  school  ofTyrannus  was  not  a  parallel  case  ; 
that  it  secularizes  Christian  Missions  and  leads  the  servants  of  Christ 
to  spend  much  time  and  strength  on  intellectual  and  worldly  matters 
which  ought  to  be  spent  in  religious  work  ;  that  it  tempts  to  an  un- 
natural and  somewhat  enslaving  alliance  between  the  church  and  the 
state  ;  that  it  leads  to  the  acceptance  of  money  as  grants-in-aid  which 
has  been  obtained  by  the  opium  trade,  and  otherwise  tainted  with  cor- 
ruption ;  that  it  tends  to  produce  among  missionaries  a  class  of  govern- 
ment apologists,  men  who  are  ready  to  defend  public  immoralities; 
that  in  more  advanced  institutions  it  pampers  the  pride,  arrogance  and 

*  See  Chapter  XXI. 


168  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

intolerance  of  educational  missionaries  and  cultivates  a  spirit  far  from 
Christ-like ;  that  it  gives  heads  of  colleges  and  their  associated  pro- 
fessors undue  prominence  in  missionary  conferences  and  councils,  and 
magnifies  their  influence  far  beyond  that  of  Christian  laborers  who  sur- 
pass them  in  years,  experience  and  evangelistic  success,  thus  marring 
the  general  course  of  missionary  movements;  that  it  assists  a  class  of 
natives  who  least  need  help  in  India  and  neglects  the  rest ;  that  it  aids 
to  swell  the  list  of  educated,  unemployed,  and  dangerous  political  agi- 
tators, a  class  which  the  government  itself  is  striving  to  diminish;  that 
it  puts  a  sword  into  the  hand  of  Christ's  enemies  and  sliarpens  the  in- 
tellects of  those  who  are  avowedly  anti-Christian  ;  that  it  has  pro- 
duced the  only  organized  rivalry  and  opposition  to  mission  work;  that, 
by  teaching  English,  it  opens  up  to  educated  natives  the  whole  armory 
of  Western  rationalism  and  infidelity  ;  that  it  spends  money  on  heathen 
teachers  which  ought  to  be  expended  on  Christian  preachers,  and 
diverts  missionary  funds  in  some  degree  from  the  great  object  for  which 
they  were  collected  ;  that  it  leads  to  the  neglect  of  work  among  vil- 
lagers, low-caste  people  and  others  who  have  shown  themselves  more 
ready  than  the  higher  classes  to  embrace  Cliristianity ;  that  it  leads  to 
the  neglect  of  Christian  youth  and  retards  the  development  of  a  vigor- 
ous, highly  equipped  and  aggressive  Christian  Church  ;  that  it  relies 
upon  the  assistance  of  high-caste  converts  and  the  power  of  educated 
intellect,  in  other  words  upon  an  "arm  of  flesh,"  to  evangelize  India, 
rather  tlian  upon  the  Spirit  of  the  living  God  ;  and  that  Providence,  by 
refusing  to  bless  it,  has  set  upon  it  the  seal  of  his  condemnation. 

On  the  other  hand,  supporters  of  schools  claim  that  a  certain  amount 
of  intelligence  and  mental  training  are  necessary  properly  to  appre- 
hend the  gospel  ;  that  the  higher  classes  should  not  be  altogetlier 
neglected;  that  the  educational  method  is  about  the  only  one  which 
can  be  employed  to  reach  them ;  that  by  this  policy  we  can  influence 
them  at  an  impressible  period  of  life  ;  that  though  there  are  {q^n  con- 
verts, these  few  are  exceedingly  important  and  in  after  years  become  a 
great  power  for  good  ;  that,  besides  the  few  who  are  actually  baptized, 
there  are  some  secret  converts  ;  that  science  tends  to  destroy  Hindu 
superstition  and  prepare  the  way  for  the  gospel ;  that  all  pupils  of 
mission  schools  get  correct  views  of  Christianity  and  help  to  prevent 
or  dispel  the  false  notions  of  our  religion  which  are  so  likely  to  spring 
up  among  their  countrymen  ;  that  most  pupils  become  friends  of  the 
missionaries  and  give  them  valuable  assistance  in  their  village  and  other 


DEFENSE    OF    THE   EDUCATIONAL    POLICY  169 

work  ;  that  good  schools  keep  Missions  prominently  before  the  public 
and  help  to  establish  their  reputation  ;  that  an  impression  also  is  thus 
produced  that  missionaries  desire  the  advancement  of  the  natives  in 
civilization  ;  that  educational  institutions  furnish  a  medium  through 
which  to  reach  the  parents  and  the  friends  of  the  pupils;  that  by  es- 
tablishing courses  of  lectures,  reading  rooms  and  opportunities  for 
personal  intercourse  a  college  may  be  made  the  centre  of  a  great  net- 
work of  influences  which  will  tell  for  good  upon  the  whole  commun- 
ity ;  that  an  educational  policy  brings  us  into  contact  with  govern- 
ment officials  and  makes  them  interested  in  all  our  work  ;  that  if  we 
do  not  educate  the  higher  classes  either  the  Government  or  Popery 
will,  producing  as  a  consequence  either  rank  infidelity  or  a  new  form 
of  superstition  ;  that  schools  afford  missionaries  a  field  for  work  at  all 
seasons  and  in  all  kinds  of  weather  ;  that  mission  colleges,  though  es- 
tablished primarily  for  the  heathen,  furnish  places  where  aspiring 
Christian  students  also  may  go  and  receive  a  good  education  under 
Christian  influence;*  that  these  colleges  will  eventually,  indeed,  be- 
come entirely  Christian  and  carry  with  themselves  into  the  Christian 
Church  all  the  prestige  of  their  preceding  fame,  and  that  some  of  our 
higher  institutions  are  almost  self-supporting  and  require  very  little  of 
the  funds  of  Mission  Boards. 

The  controversy  thus  brought  before  us  is  of  long  standing,  and, 
as  years  advance  seems  to  increase  in  intensity  and  bitterness.  Nothing 
for  instance  in  the  late  Decennial  Missionary  Conference  at  Bombay 
created  deeper  feeling  than  this  subject.  And  what  makes  the  matter 
more  perplexing  is  that  men  of  undoubted  piety,  great  ability  and 
deep  evangelical  earnestness  are  to  be  found  on  both  sides  of  the 
question. 

While  the  writer  would  say  nothing  against  primary  education  as  a 
means  of  preparing  people  for  reading  the  Scriptures  and  receiving  the 
gospel  and  is  persuaded  that  higher  education  is  also  an  important 
means  of  developing  believers  and  strengthening  the  Christian  Church, 
and  ought  to  be  carried  on,  even  to  the  most  advanced  standard, 
where  the  number  of  Christian  students  justifies  it,  he  cannot  but  think 
that  in  India,  under  existing  circumstances,  the  arguments  of  those  who 
oppose  higher  education  as  at  present  conducted  for  evangelistic  pur- 

*  Twenty-five  Christian  students  were  on  the  roll  of  tlie  Lahore  Christian  College 
for  the  year  1893.  Of  '242  students  in  the  Mission  Colleges  of  Madras  Presidency 
for  1890-91,  143  were  either  Europeans  or  native  Christians. 


170  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

poses  are  weighter  than  the  arguments  of  the  other  side  and  should 
prevail. 

If  so,  what  ought  to  be  done? 

One  of  three  courses  is  suggested. 

First,  reform  the  present  methods.  Let  Christian  teachers  take  the 
place  of  those  that  are  non-Christian.*  Improve  the  course  of  Scrip- 
ture study.  Put  the  best  work  upon  Bible  recitations.  Be  less  solicit- 
ous for  fees,  or  attendance,  or  educational  results,  than  for  the  salva- 
tion of  souls.  Throw  around  the  school  on  Sabbaths,  and  at  other 
seasons,  more  religious  exercises.  Hold  protracted  meetings  under  the 
direction  of  specially  qualified  evangelists.  Encourage  private  in- 
quiry. Be  not  afraid  to  baptize  a  convert.  Secure  the  establishment 
of  a  Christian  University  which  will  put  a  premium  upon  religious 
knowledge  and  use  the  weight  of  its  great  influence  in  behalf  of  the 
truth. 

Or  secondly,  abolish  as  fast  as  possible  all  institutions  above  the 
Primary  which  have  a  purely  evangelistic  object,  or  make  them  almost 
exclusively  schools  for  Christians.  Owing  to  obligations  previously 
incurred,  this  work  of  abolition  may  sometimes  be  very  difficult ;  but 
in  few  cases,  should  time  be  given,  would  it  be  found  impossible. 

Or  thirdly,  turn  over  all  such  institutions  to  the  government,  or 
better  still,  to  some  other  society,  whose  object  will  accord  more  fully 
with  the  actual  results  than  that  of  a  purely  missionary  body.  If  peo- 
ple wish  to  give  Hindus  and  Muhammadans  the  benefits  of  our  West- 
ern education  under  Christian  management  let  them  do  so  through  As- 
sociations formed  for  that  particular  purpose. 

Our  own  Mission  has  generally  pursued  a  middle  course  in  regard 
to  this  matter ;  and  her  work  from  an  educational  point  of  view  has 
been  largely  successful.  In  April,  18S3,  she  abolished  her  Boys' 
School  in  Jhelum,  but  all  along  has  continued  her  High  Schools  at 
Gujranwala  and  Sialkot.  Slie  also  has  kept  up  Girls'  Schools  for  the 
heathen  in  Gujranwala,  Jhelum  and  some  other  places;  but  in  1882 
she  stopped  those  that  had  been  carried  on  in  Sialkot,  although  these 
were  revived  again  in  1893.  Into  village  Christian  Schools  also  a 
limited  number  of  non-Christians  have  been  admitted,  ever  since  they 
were  started. 

*  Some  non-Christian  teachers,  however,  are  remarkably  true  to  their  employers. 
Only  their  example  is  against  our  cause.  Those  who  have  been  long  in  mission  ser- 
vice and  have  done  faithful  work  ought  to  be  treated  considerately  and  justly. 


172  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

The  Rawal  Pindi  High  School,  whose  roll  in  November,  1894,  con- 
tained 1 160  names,  was  not  founded  by  our  Mission,  but  came  to  us  in 
1892  from  the  American  Presbyterian  Mission,  and  has  been  continued 
since  that  time,  partly  for  the  sake  of  perpetuating  the  work  which  had 
already  been  begun  there.  But  we  alone  are  responsible  for  starting 
(in  1893)  a  College  department  in  connection  with  tliis  school  and 
providing  means  of  instruction  to  students,  especially  non-Christians, 
as  far  up  as  F.  A.* 

The  Gujranwala  High  Scliool  for  Boys,  under  Dr.  McKee  and 
others,  has  for  many  years  been  kept  in  the  front  rank  as  to  numbers 
and  educational  excellence.  Sometimes  it  reports  over  a  thousand 
scholars ;  \  and  a  large  percentage  of  its  candidates  every  year  pass 
the  University  examinations.  The  Central  and  Branch  Schools  for 
girls  in  the  same  place  have  had  an  interesting  history  under  the  suc- 
cessive direction  of  Misses  Calhoun,  Wilson,  Mukarji  and  others  ;  and 
such  also  has  been  the  case  with  the  Jhelum  Girls'  School,  under 
Misses  Anderson,  Given,  and  their  successors. 

Of  these  institutions,  however,  none  but  the  High  Schools  and  the 
College  carry  education  to  an  advanced  stage,  or  are  much  influenced 
by  the  University  system.  And  in  all  of  them  special  effort  is  made 
to  give  thorough  religious  instruction.  Every  day's  exercises  in  the 
Boys'  Schools  are  opened  with  the  reading  of  a  passage  of  Scripture, 
and  prayer,  and  sometimes  an  address ;  and  one  period  (say  three 
quarters  of  an  hour)  is  devoted  in  each  class  to  Christian  teaching. 
Even  on  Sabbaths  the  pupils  are  generally  assembled  together  for  di- 
vine service,  or  special  lessons  in  the  Bible ;  and  in  Girls'  Schools 
Christian  text-books  are  used. 

True,  many  of  the  teachers  in  these  institutions  and  all  the  callers  | 
in  the  Girls'  Schools  are  non-Christians;  and,  in  the  necessarily  frequent 
absence  of  the  Christian  overseer,  abuses  are  apt  to  creep  in.  True,  also, 
the  missionary  is  sometimes  led  to  teach  a  secular  subject,  and  may  be 
kept  by  his  school  duties  from  evangelistic  efforts  in  distant  villages. 

But  probably  there  are  no  similar  institutions  in  India  wliere  the 

*  First  Arts — the  end  of  the  Sophomore  year. 

fin  December,  1893,  there  were  1024  on  the  roll.  Recently  there  has  been  con- 
siderable decrease. 

\  A  caller  is  a  kind  of  chaperon  employed  to  gather  up  the  children  from  their 
homes  and  take  them  to  and  from  the  schoolroom.  See  Gal.  3 :  24.  They  are  al- 
most always  poor  widows,  and  somewhat  elderly. 


RESULT  OF  OUR   SCHOOL    WORK 


173 


Single  aim  of  saving  souls  is  kept  more  constantly  before  the  minds  of 
those  who  are  conducting  them,  or  where  they  are  allowed  to  interfere 
less  with  other  efforts  to  spread  the  gospel. 

Little  direct  result,  however,  in  the  way  of  making  converts,  has 
come  from  all  our  labors  in  this  department.  Some  pupils,  indeed, 
have  confessed  Christ  and  become  active  helpers  in  doing  good;  and 
others  have  appeared  to  be  deeply  impressed.  But  the  chief  benefits 
experienced  from  this  policy  with  us,  as  in  other  Missions,  have  been 
of  that  more  general  character  to  which  reference  has  already  been 
sufficiently  made. 

Hence  the  writer  is  not  disposed  to  apologize  for  the  continuance 
of  our  own  higher  school  work  as  an  evangelizing  agency.  He  thinks 
that  it  is  involved  in  many  of  the  same  evils  which  opponents  of  an  edu- 
cational policy  have  been  constrained  to  condemn  elsewhere,  and,  being 
almost  destitute  of  spiritual  fruit,  should,  therefore,  be  treated  in  one  or 
other  of  the  three  ways  that  have  been  suggested.  Especially  does  he  en- 
tertain this  view  regarding  the  incij)ient  College  at  Rawal  Pindi.  The 
establishment  of  this  institution  was  a  distinct  departure  from  the 
policy  which  we  had  previously  adopted,  as  well  as  from  the  policy  of 
our  predecessors  in  that  station.  In  view  of  the  paucity  of  our  forces, 
the  doubts  which  many  entertain  of  the  usefulness  of  even  High  Schools 
as  a  means  of  converting  the  heathen,  and  the  fact  that  one  good  Christian 
College  had  already  been  started  in  the  Punjab  where  all  of  our  con- 
verts who  wished  to  do  so  could  pursue  their  education,  the  writer  is 
aware  of  no  reason  by  which  it  can  be  justified. 


women's  jewels. 


CHAPTER    XVII 


EVANGELISTIC  WORK— III 

Zenana  and  Medical  IVork — Conversion  of  Indian  Women — Its  Importance — Igno- 
rance of  these  Women — Their  Power  in  the  Home — The  Zenana  Described — 
The  Zenana  Worker's  Experience  and  Methods — Her  Advantages  and  Disad- 
vantages— Results — Medical  Missionary  Work — Its  Growth  and  Necessity — 
Objections  and  Benefits — Our  Own  Special  Efforts  in  this  Line— A  History  and 
a  Report. 

|ET  US  now  notice  special  methods,  other  than  that  of 
schools,  which  have  been  employed  by  us  to  secure  the 
conversion  of  Indian  women. 

It  would  be  hard  to  exaggerate  the  importance  of  reach- 
ing this  class  with  the  gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Not  only  are 
they  a  nutiierous  part  (almost  one-half)  of  the  population,  and  found 
in  every  home,  but  they  are  generally  much  more  ignorant  and  super- 
stitious than  the  men  and  lack  the  opportunities  enjoyed  by  the  latter 
to  acquire  knowledge.  Men  and  boys  can  go  without  restriction  to 
the  bazat's  and  melas  and  mingle  with  their  fellows  in  every  crowd  that 
promises  interesting  or  useful  experience.  For  years,  too,  many  of 
them  have  been  attending  schools  where  they  have  acquired  training 
and  scientific  information.  But  from  the  time  that  they  are  nine  years 
of  age,  members  of  the  weaker  sex,  in  families  of  any  pretension,  must 
confine  themselves  to  their  own  homes ;  or,  if  occasionally  they  appear 
abroad,  it  must  be  under  a  heavy  veil  or  in  a  closed  palanquin.  Girls' 
(174) 


HINDRANCES  IN  A    HINDU  HOME  175 

Schools,  moreover,  are  of  recent  origin,  embrace  only  a  few  pupils,* 
and  reach  these  few  only  for  a  short  time,  as  early  marriage  is  the 
general  rule,  and  once  a  girl  is  married  she  rarely  interests  herself  in 
school  life.  Nor  have  Orientals  yet  got  over  the  idea  that  it  is  a  dis- 
graceful thing  for  a  man  to  teach  his  own  wife  and  daughters. 

In  many  houses,  therefore,  a  great  gulf  separates  the  two  sexes.  As 
a  native  newspaper  says  : 

"The  educated  native  is  nowhere  so  miserable  as  in  his  own  home, 
and  by  none  is  he  so  much  embarrassed  as  by  his  female  relations. 
His  private  life  may  be  said  to  be  at  antipodes  with  his  public  career. 
In  public  he  may  be  a  Demosthenes  in  oratory,  or  a  Luther  in  reform; 
in  his  home  he  is  but  a  timid,  crouching  Hindu,  yielding  unquestion- 
ing submission  to  the  requisitions  of  a  superstitious  family.  Between 
husband  and  wife  there  can  be  no  rational  conversation,  no  hearty  ex- 
change of  thought  and  sympathies,  no  co-operation  in  really  useful 
undertakings,  and  no  companionship.  They  cannot  possibly  agree, 
and  so  long  as  the  illiterate  wife  governs  the  household  according  to  her 
orthodox  prejudices,  the  nation  cannot  make  any  real  advancement." 

And  these  remarks  are  especially  true  in  regard  to  religious  progress. 
So  long  as  mother,  sister,  wife  and  daughter  remain  in  darkness  so 
long  must  husband,  brother  and  son  virtually  remain  so  too.  None  are 
more  ready  to  drive  away  from  home  a  Christian  convert  than  the  fe- 
male members  of  his  own  household.  Hence,  the  conversion  of  In- 
dian women  is  not  only  important  in  itself — as  important  intrinsically 
as  the  conversion  of  men — but  it  bears  a  very  close  relation  to  the  lat- 
ter. How  can  we  expect  any  great  relaxation  of  the  rules  of  caste,  or 
any  great  movement  among  families,  or  even  among  the  male  heads  of 
families,  toward  Christianity,  until  the  female  sex  is  enlightened  ? 
The  ignorance  and  heathenish  condition  of  women  is,  perhaps,  the 
greatest  barrier,  now  found  in  India,  to  the  spread  of  divine  truth. 
"  When  we  get  the  women  of  India  on  our  side,  with  a  Christian  in- 
telligence to  guide  them,  and  with  warm  sympathy  for  their  husbands, 
then,"  says  a  distinguished  missionary,  "the  battle  will  be  won." 

*The  number  of  female  pupils  in  all  India  reported  in  the  year  1890  was 
294,036;  of  males,  3,325,105,  or  more  than  eleven  times  as  many  males  as  females. 
Even  our  own  Mission  reported  only  1037  girls  in  her  schools  at  the  close  of  1S93, 
although  she  had  4823  boys  under  instruction.  And  in  1894  when  4679  male  pupils 
were  reported,  only  1097  female  scholars  appeared  on  the  rolls — that  is,  just  about 
one-seventh  of  the  whole  attendance. 


176  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

One  method  by  which  an  effort  is  made  to  reach  this  class  is  that  of 
zenana  visitation. 

The  word  zenana,  or  zanana,  is  of  Persian  origin,  and  is  derived 
from  zan,  which  means  a  woman.  Anything  is  zenatia  which  pertains 
to  a  woman.  Hence,  the  application  of  the  word  to  that  part  of 
Oriental  houses  which  women  occupy.  This  is  generally  the  inner 
or  the  rear  portion  of  the  dwelling,  and  often  it  is  furnished  in  the 
shabbiest  manner.  Men  appropriate  to  themselves  the  front  and  more 
exposed  parts  of  the  house — which  are  also,  of  course,  the  cheeriest ; 
and,  if  any  fine  furniture  adorns  the  establishment,  there  is  the  place 
where  it  is  most  likely  to  be  found.  But  sometimes  the  zenana  part 
also  is  well  finished  and  well  supplied  with  every  requisite.  Nothing 
could  have  been  more  elegant  than  the  zenana  section  of  an  Aryan 
gentleman's  house  in  Miani,  which  the  author  saw  before  it  was  occu- 
pied by  his  family.  It  consisted  of  several  stories  of  rooms  and  veran- 
das, surrounding,  as  usual,  a  central  court,  which  supplied  air  and 
light  to  all.  But  money  was  not  spared  in  its  construction.  Its  panel- 
work  painting,  its  Sanskrit  mottoes  in  gold  and  variegated  colors,  its 
splendid  wall  mirrors,  its  carved  screens  and  polished  hard-wood 
frames,  its  ceilings  dazzling  with  pictures  and  tiny  looking-glasses,  its 
bay-windows  and  cabinets — all  exhibited  the  highest  style  of  Indian 
art. 

Into  such  places  as  this,  and  into  other  abodes  far  less  pretentious, 
the  zenana  worker  goes  with  her  message  of  love. 

In  our  field  she  finds  little  difficulty  of  entrance.  Probably  ten 
times  as  many  houses  are  open  as  can  be  reached  by  all  the  ladies  and 
their  assistants.  Even  after  the  great  excitement  against  such  work  in 
Jhelum,  which  occurred  during  the  year  1884,  two  hundred  zenanas  could 
be  counted  as  still  open  to  the  lady  missionary.  Nor  is  the  visitor  (or 
visitors,  for  usually  two  work  together)  required  to  leave  her  Bible  be- 
hind her  when  she  goes  into  these  places.  Nor  yet  is  it  necessary  for  her 
to  teach  embroidery,  or  knitting,  or  any  other  accomplishment  as  an  in- 
troduction to  higher  work.  The  prospect  of  learning  to  read  and 
getting  acquainted  with  a  more  advanced  condition  of  society  is  usu- 
ally sufficient  inducement  to  overcome  every  objection.  True,  there 
are  unaspiring  women,  and  surly  husbands,  and  closed  houses,  espe- 
cially among  the  Muhammadans.  But  the  rule  is  otherwise,  and 
sometimes  ardent  longing  for  a  missionary's  visits  reigns  in  the  heart 
of  a  zenana. 


EXPERIENCE    OF  ZENANA    WORKERS 


177 


According  to  their  own  account  zenana  workers  meet  with  a  varied 
experience.  Occasionally  there  is  a  great  deal  of  ceremony  as  they 
enter  and  leave.  Servants  flit  hitlier  and  thither  with  messages,  halls 
and  courts  are  passed,  some  of  which  perhaps  contain  cattle,  and  a 
period  of  waiting  is  required  before  the  reception  room  and  the  be- 
gums'^'- are  reached  ;  and  occasionally,  during  or  after  the  interview 
a  present  is  offered  the  caller  as  a  token  of  respect.  But  generally 
there  is  less  delay  and  less  formality. 
Almost  always,  however,  each  visitor 
receives  the  best  seat  which  can  be  fur- 
nished her — whether  that  be  a  European 
chair,  a  kiirsi,  or  a  c/iarpai.  Sometimes 
only  the  ladies  of  the  house  are  present ; 
sometimes  a  neighbor  or  two,  or  even  a 
whole  room  full  of  friends,  make  their 
appearance.  Occasionally  the  hostess 
and  her  companions  appear  in  their 
finest  silks  and  are  weighed  down  with 
costly  jewels  ;  but  sometimes  they  ap- 
pear almost  in  a  state  of  nudity. 

Conversation  often  begins  with  the 
most  trivial  subjects.  The  new  Miss 
Sahiba  is  generally  put  through  some 
such  a  catechism  as  this:  "Are  your 
parents  living  ?  Have  you  brothers  and 
sisters  ?  Are  they  married  ?  Are  you 
married  ?  Why  did  your  parents  neglect 
to  marry  you  ?  Did  nobody  ever  ask 
you  to  be  his  wife  ?  Will  you  ever  be 
married?     Why  don't  you    wear   rings 

in  your  ears  and  nose?  Why  did  you  come  to  this  country?  What 
salary  do  you  get  ?  The  Mem-Sahiba's  catechism  resembles  this  very 
much,  but  includes  also  the  question.  How  many  sons  have  you? 
never  the  question.  How  many  daughters? 

When  such  inquiries  are  ended,  it  often  takes  a  good  while  for  the 
narrow-minded  women  to  recover  from  the  wonder  produced  by  some 
of  the  answers  which  they  receive.  Gradually,  however,  progress  is 
made,  religious  topics  introduced,  a  part  of  the  Bible  read,  dhajans 

*  Native  ladies  of  a  high  rank. 

13 


MARY    ANNA. 


178  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

sung  and  the  hearers  directed  to  Jesus  as  their  Saviour.  Often,  too, 
regular  lessons  are  given,  and  zenana  scholars,  through  repeated  visits, 
eventually  brought  up  to  the  point  of  reading  the  Scriptures  for  them- 
selves. 

One  disadvantage  of  zenana  visitation  is  that  male  relatives  some- 
times make  their  appearance,  either  to  scoff  or  encourage,  and  when 
this  happens  many  of  the  women  scatter  in  different  directions; 
although  not  always.  Another  disadvantage  is  that  only  the  more 
cultured  and  experienced  class  of  laborers  can  be  employed  in  this 
work.  High-caste  native  ladies  have  an  aristocratic  feeling  and  will 
not  be  satisfied  with  any  but  what  they  consider  the  very  best.  Still 
another  disadvantage  is  that  no  house  can  be  visited  very  frequently. 
Five  or  six  zenana  visits  a  day  are  about  all  that  a  lady  worker  or  her 
companion  can  overtake;  and,  if  they  have  forty  or  fifty  houses  on 
their  list,  no  one  of  them  can  get  much  of  their  attention.  And  then 
audiences  in  houses  of  high-caste  people  are  usually  quite  small,  much 
smaller  than  can  be  had  in  a  girls'  school. 

On  the  other  hand  there  is  close  personal  contact  in  zenana  work, 
and  instruction  can  be  brought  home  very  directly  to  the  heart.  A 
mature  class  of  persons,  too,  can  be  reached  in  this  way  and  women 
can  be  taught  who  would  otherwise  remain  entirely  ignorant  of  the 
gospel,  to  say  nothing  of  the  opportunity  thus  given  to  continue  and 
complete  work  which  has  been  begun  in  the  schools  or  started  by  a 
medical  practitioner. 

Direct  results  of  a  spiritual  character  have  not  yet  appeared  to  any 
great  extent.  Few  have  been  brought  in  this  way  to  make  a  public 
profession  of  their  faith  in  Christ,  but  as  many,  perhaps,  as  could  be 
expected  when  we  consider  the  tremendous  difficulties  which  lie  in  the 
way  of  such  an  act.  Private  confession  of  faith,  however,  is  not  rare  ; 
and  certainly  much  has  been  done  by  zenana  workers  to  dispel  igno- 
rance and  superstition,  and  lessen  the  hold  which  idolatry  has  upon  a 
Hindu  home. 

But  zenana  visitation  has  a  broader  sense  than  that  which  is  gener- 
ally attached  to  it.  It  may  apply  to  work  in  the  houses  of  the  common 
people,  who  constitute  a  large  majority  of  the  population.  Less  cere- 
mony is  required  in  reaching  this  class  than  the  more  aristocratic,  and 
less  time  needs  to  be  spent  by  a  visitor  in  secular  instruction.  Besides, 
larger  audiences  can  be  readily  secured.  Almost  as  easy  is  it  for  a 
lady  missionary  to  collect  a  company  of  women  in  the  court  of  a  work- 


MEDICAL   MISSIONARY  WORK  179 

ingman's  house,  to  listen  to  her  message,  as  it  is  for  a  missionary  of 
the  other  sex  to  gather  a  company  of  men  at  a  street  corner  for  a 
similar  purpose.  And  probably  this  is  the  more  useful  and  effective 
branch  of  zenana  work.  There  may  be  more  noise  and  eclat  in  the 
conversion  of  a  begum,  or  a  veiled  Muhammadan  lady,  than  in  the 
conversion  of  the  wife  of  a  carpenter  or  a  cooly ;  but  whether  it  in- 
volves larger  and  more  blessed  consequences  is  a  question,  and  certainly 
it  is  not  likely  to  occur  so  often. 

Medical  missionary  work  has  become  an  important  branch  of  Chris- 
tian labor  among  the  heathen.  In  September,  1892,  it  was  reported 
by  the  Medical  Missionary  Record  of  New  York  that  359  fully  quali- 
fied foreign  physicians,  of  whom  74  were  women,  were  then  engaged 
in  such  work  in  various  parts  of  the  world — 126  in  China,  76  in  India, 
46  in  Africa  and  iii  in  other  regions — also  that  173  of  these  physi- 
cians had  gone  out  from  the  United  States  and  169  from  Great  Britain. 
The  American  Board  alone,  from  its  origin  down  to  Jan.  i,  1895,  ^^^d 
sent  out  89  medical  missionaries,  of  wliom  55  were  not  ordained.  The 
"Statistical  Tables  of  Missions  in  India,"  prepared  in  1890,  report  97 
foreign  and  Eurasian  and  168  native  Christian  medical  workers  of  both 
sexes  in  that  country,  as  well  as  166  hospitals  and  dispensaries;  while 
in  the  Punjab  alone  there  were  34  foreign  and  Eurasian  and  35  native 
medical  workers,  and  34  hospitals  and  dispensaries.  Of  late  years, 
moreover,  influences  have  been  at  work  specially  tending  to  increase 
the  number  of  missionaries  and  Christian  helpers  engaged  in  medical 
work  among  the  women  of  that  land  ;  and  chief  among  these  influences, 
no  doubt,  have  been  the  interest  taken  by  Lady  Dufferin  and  her  suc- 
cessors in  the  provision  of  suitable  medical  treatment  for  upper-class 
{pardah)  women  and  the  scheme  of  help  which  (since  the  year  1885) 
they  have  carried  on  with  this  end  in  view.* 

As  has  already  been  remarked, f  every  missionary  is  required  to 
dabble  in  medicine.  But  the  well-trained  physician  goes  into  the 
business  more  fully  and  systematically  than  others.  A  dispensary  is 
establi.shed  either  in  his  own  house  or  at  a  convenient  point,  where  he 
sees  patients  at  stated  hours,  inquires  into  their  maladies  and  supplies 
remedies.  Perhaps,  too,  he  has  a  hospital  near  at  hand  into  which  the 
more  serious  cases  are  admitted  for  regular  treatment.  A  Bible  worker 
also  talks  to  the  people  while  they  wait  for  medical  examination  at  the 
dispensary,  and  either  he  or  his  employer  daily  visits  the  hospital  for 

*See  p.  72.  fSee  pp.  145,  146- 


180 


LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 


religious  conversation  and  prayer  with  its  inmates.  Besides  this  the 
medical  man,  or  woman,  is  often  called  abroad  to  see  sick  people  in 
their  homes,  where  attention  may  be  paid  to  spiritual  as  well  as  physical 
disease.  And  more  than  this  :  at  fit  seasons  the  physician  generally 
travels  around  among  the  towns  and  villages  of  his  District  carrying 
the  double  blessings  of  temporal  and  eternal  healing  to  multitudes  of 
people. 

That  such  work  is  of  a  highly  beneficent  and  humanizing  char- 
acter— that  there  is  great  need  of  scientific  medical  advice  in  a  land 
where  quacks  are  almost  as  numerous  as  fakirs* — that  the  call  for  lady 
doctors  coming  to  us   from  millions  of  women,  who  by  inexorable 

custom  are  shut  off  from  the  sur- 
gical ministrations  of  men,  is 
loud  and  heart-rending — and 
that  for  Christian  communities 
themselves,  and  especially  for  the 
foreign  missionary  circle,  so  far 
as  it  is  located  at  a  distance 
from  trained  physicians,  the 
medical  missionary  is  almost  a 
necessity — are  facts  which  have 
often  been  presented  to  people 
of  Christian  countries,  and  which 
no  one  would  be  inclined  to 
question. 

But  some  of  the  very  objec- 
tions that  have  been  made  to 
educational  work  as  an  evangelistic  agency  have  also  been  made  to 
medical  work  having  the  same  end  in  view.  It  is  said  to  be  largely 
secular  in  its  character,  to  involve  a  great  deal  of  expense,  to  form  an 
unholy  alliance  with  the  government  by  drawing  funds  for  its  support 
from  the  public  treasury,  to  be  frequently  dominated  by  the  desire  to 
make  a  good  display  of  medical  rather  than  religious  results,  to  fear  con- 
version and  baptism  as  the  direct  consequence  of  its  efforts  lest  such 
events  might  create  serious  trouble  and  even  temporarily  close  a  hos- 
pital or  a  dispensary,  and  to  be  generally  barren  of  direct  spiritual 
fruit.  It  has  even  been  said  that  educational  work  is  more  hopeful 
than  medical,  because  it  deals  solely  with  the  young  and  by  its  regular, 

*  See  pp.  47,  48. 


A    NATIVE   WOMAN. 


ADVANTAGES   OF  MEDICAL   MISSION    WORK  181 

repeated  and  protracted  opportunities  has  a  better  chance  to  instruct 
the  mind  and  reach  the  conscience. 

Much,  however,  can  be  said  in  favor  of  the  latter  method  of  spread- 
ing the  gospel  when  conducted  under  wise  regulations.  Its  expenses 
are  largely  borne  by  fees,  Municipal  or  District  grants,  and  voluntary 
contributions  from  outside  sources.  It  almost  always  secures  an  audi- 
ence without  difficulty.  It  obtains  a  great  variety  of  hearers — persons 
of  all  ages,  classes  and  conditions — Hindus,  Muhammadans  and 
Sikhs — Brahmans,  Khatriyas,  Sayyids  and  Chuliras — men  and  women. 
It  tends  to  break  up  distinctions  of  caste.  It  reaches  people  when  the 
heart  is  made  tender  by  affliction  and  is  susceptible  of  religious  im- 
pressions. It  comes  enforced  by  practical  kindness  and  undoubted 
human  sympathy.  It  has  no  superior  as  a  pioneer  agency  in  entering 
new  fields,  and  sometimes  succeeds  in  starting  and  establishing  mission 
work  where  all  other  methods  completely  fail.  It  furnislies  the  sesame 
which  opens  the  door  of  many  a  zenana  that  is  closed  to  ordinary  Bible 
teachers.  It  claims  the  example  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  his 
apostles,  who  not  only  preached  the  gospel  to  the  poor  but  healed  the 
sick,  cured  the  deaf  and  gave  sight  to  the  blind — a  claim  which  is  not 
altogether  nullified  by  the  fact  that  the  great  object  of  the  New 
Testament  miracles  was  to  establish  the  Messiahship  of  Christ  and 
confirm  the  communications  of  his  inspired  messengers. 

Not  mentioning  the  ordinary  ministrations  of  unprofessional  laborers, 
our  own  special  efforts  in  this  department  have  been  altogether  in  the 
line  of  zenana  medical  work.  This  has  been  due  partly  to  the  greater 
need  of  such  efforts  among  women  than  among  men,  partly  to  the 
stimulus  experienced  from  a  general  movement  in  India  toward 
medical  help  for  the  female  sex,  and  partly  to  the  fact  that  Providence 
favored  us  more  in  -  getting  laborers  for  this  department  than  for 
medical  work  of  a  more  general  character. 

As  early  as  September  17,  1880,  Miss  Euphie  Gordon  and  Mrs. 
Johnson  opened  up  a  hospital  for  women  in  Gurdaspur  which  continued 
in  operation  for  about  five  years,  and  did  much  good.  This  was  closed 
only  because  the  ladies  in  charge  of  it  wished  to  go  to  America  to  se- 
cure a  regular  medical  education  and  no  one  else  appeared  to  take  their 
places. 

When  Dr.  White  arrived  in  the  country  and  was  located  at  Sialkot, 
still  more  extensive  movements  of  a  similar  character  began  in  that 
city.     Dispensary  work,  to  a  certain  extent,  was  required  from  the  very 


182  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

beginning  of  the  Doctor's  residence  there.  A  hospital  was  also  started 
in  Sialkot  on  January  12,  1S88,  and  a  building  erected  for  its  use  which 
was  formally  opened  December  30,  1889,  and  completed  in  the  spring 
of  1891.  At  Pasrur,  a  Tahsil  town  nineteen  miles  distant  from  Sial- 
kot, a  branch  dispensary  was  established  November,  1890,  and  placed 
in  charge  of  a  European  assistant.  A  class  of  students  was  also  formed 
at  the  principal  station  to  whom  instruction  was  given  in  medical 
science.  And  every  year  tours  have  been  made  in  various  directions 
so  as  to  reach  as  far  as  possible  the  people  of  the  towns  and  villages  of 
the  District.  As  an  indication  of  the  amount  of  work  done  it  may  be 
noted  that,  during  1891,  24,366  patients  were  treated  at  the  dispen- 
saries and  63  at  tlie  hospital;  while  465  surgical  operations  were  per- 
formed, 15  of  which  were  classed  as  major.  Thirty  villages  were  also 
visited  and  1275  calls  made  upon  patients  in  their  homes. 

When  Dr.  Johnson  reached  India,  after  receiving  a  thorough  course 
of  medical  training  in  the  United  States,  she  was  located  in  the  Jhe- 
lum  Mission  District,  which  included  Bhera.  This  was  in  March, 
1890.  Dispensaries  were  soon  opened  up  at  both  Jhelum  and  Bhera; 
and,  though  the  buildings  erected  for  their  use  were  swept  away  by  the 
floods  of  July  20,  1893,  the  work  of  dispensing  medicine  did  not  cease. 
Since  then,  too,  a  new  dispensary  has  been  built  at  Jhelum,  while  visits 
to  zenana  patients  and  medical  tours  through  various  parts  of  the  sur- 
rounding country  have  been  as  common  as  in  Sialkot.  A  few  sufferers 
have  also  been  treated  as  indoor  patients  at  Jhelum  and  soon,  it  is 
hoped,  a  fully  equipped  hospital  will  be  opened.  Dr.  Johnson's  state- 
ments of  the  amount  of  work  done  from  year  to  year  resemble  very 
closely  those  of  Dr.  Wiiite.  In  her  report  for  the  year  1893  she  says, 
"At  our  Jhelum  Dispensary  we  have  treated  7061  new  and  3710  old 
patients,  making  a  total  of  10,771,  while  Miss  Morgan,  our  European 
assistant  at  Bhera,  treated  3941  patients,  making  a  grand  total  of 
14,712  patients  for  the  year." 

When  Dr.  White  left  for  America  in  the  early  part  of  1894  her  work 
was  left  in  charge  of  Mrs.  Fretwell  and  the  native  assistants,  but  in 
March  Dr.  Johnson  was  also  directed  to  make  periodical  visits  to  the 
hospital  at  Sialkot.  Now  it  is  in  charge  of  a  new  missionary,  Mary 
A.  Platter,  M.  D. 

In  spiritual  efforts  the  usual  methods  are  employed  in  both  fields. 
Bible  reading  and  exhortation  at  the  dispensaries  and  hospitals,  re- 
ligious conversation  in  the  zenanas,  printed  passages  of  Scripture  dis- 


RESULTS   OF  MEDICAL    MISSION   WORK 


183 


tributed  as  tickets  or  tracts,  and  prayer  for  a  blessing  wherever  prac- 
ticable :  these  are  all  employed  to  draw  patients  to  the  great  Healer  of 
souls. 

As  for  results,  two  baptisms  occurred  among  the  patients  at  Gurdaspar 
hospital  and  one  notable  conversion  was  reported  at  the  beginning 
of  the  work  in  Sialkot,  that  of  a  veiled  Muhammadan  lady;  while 
several  instances  have  been  given  of  persons  upon  whom  it  is  thought 
a  deep  religious  impression  was  made.  But  the  most  remarkable  result 
of  all,  perhaps,  is  that  wider  diffusion  of  Scripture  knowledge  among 
an  exceedingly  ignorant,  yet  important  class,  through  which  we  hope 
in  due  season  to  reap  an  abundant  harvest. 


THE    LIGHTHOUSE. 


BUFFALOES    BATHING    IN    A    VILLAGE    POND. 

i^From  a  Punjabi  Drawing^ 


CHAPTER  XVIII 
EVANGELISTIC  WORK— IV 

Through_Literature — Itineration — Congregational  Services — Efforts  of  the  Common 
People — Moral  and  Spiritual  Character — Testimony  Bearing. 

LTHOUGH  the  use  of  literature  for  evangelistic  purposes 
is  generally  connected  with  some  other  method  of  circu- 
lating the  gospel,  its  character  is  so  distinct  as  to  justify 
separate  mention.  Nor  has  it  been  an  unimportant 
arm  of  the  service.  Bibles,  tracts,  treatises,  books,  newspapers,  cards 
— in  Urdu  and  Punjabi — all  forms  of  publication  have  been  used 
as  opportunity  offered.  In  every  school  the  Word  of  God  is 
found  as  a  text  book  ;  and  at  every  religious  service,  whether  in 
church,  bazar,  or  zenana,  a  portion  of  the  same  Book  is  read  as  one  of 
the  means  of  grace.  Cards  containing  Scripture  texts  are  given  out  at 
the  hospitals  and  monthly  tracts  distributed  gratis  among  people  who 
can  read.  Books  are  sold  at  a  cheap  rate,  wherever  a  purchaser  can 
be  found,  and  religious  newspapers  are  loaned  to  inquirers.  In  sev- 
eral of  our  stations,  moreover,  this  work  has  been  specially  strength- 
ened and  concentrated  by  the  establishment  of  a  bookshop  and  the 
employment  of  a  colporteur.  Such  has  been  the  case  at  Jhelum,  Guj- 
ranvvala,  Gurdaspur  and,  to  some  extent  also,  at  Sialkot  and  Pathankot. 
These  shops  contain  reading-rooms  and  become  the  fountains  of  a  cer- 
(184) 


LITERATURE  AND   ITINERATION  185 

tain  amount  of  literary  stimulus  and  religious  life.  Words  are  often 
read  or  heard  there,  as  well  as  elsewhere,  which,  we  are  well  assured, 
have  had  their  appropriate  effect  in  dispelling  superstition  and  con- 
verting the  soul. 

All  the  literature  thus  circulated  does  not  of  course  come  from  our 
own  press  or  our  own  pens.  Indeed  the  great  bulk  of  it,  as  we  have 
seen  (p.  92),  is  obtained  from  neighboring  missionary  sources. 

But  our  own  workers  nevertheless  have  done  something  in  this  line. 
In  the  early  eighties  we  had  a  lithographic  press,  managed  by  the  Pub- 
lication Committee  of  the  Presbytery,  on  which  were  printed  several 
books  ;  and  among  them  was  one  at  least,  of  48  pages,  addressed  to  non- 
Christians,  entitled  "Brief  Evidences  of  Christianity" — an  English 
treatise  translated  from  the  original  of  Dr.  Alden  by  Dr.  Martin.  But 
the  management  of  a  press  without  continual  employment  was  found 
to  be  expensive  and  unsatisfactory.  Hence  it  was  abandoned  ;  and 
ever  since  our  literary  productions  have  been  printed  elsewhere — some- 
times at  Mission  expense  and  sometimes  not.  Of  evangelistic  publica- 
tions thus  issued,  one  of  138  pages  by  the  writer  may  be  mentioned, 
called  "The  Saviour's  Claim  " — the  translation  of  a  book  by  the  late 
Rev.  R.  H.  Pollock,  D.  D.  But  the  Rev.  G.  L.  Thakur  Das  has  been  by 
f:ir  our  most  prolific  author.  Up  to  April,  1894,  he  had  published  ten 
different  books  and  had  written  at  least  eleven  different  series  of  let- 
ters, besides  many  single  communications  for  newspapers,  chiefly  the 
Niir  Afshan.  The  books  contained  an  aggregate  of  1252  pages  and 
6000  copies,  and  some  of  the  series  of  letters  extended  over  a  period  of 
three  months.  Another  book  of  150  pages  was  also  ready  for  publica- 
tion. Many  of  these  treatises  are  controversial,  or  apologetic,  in  their 
character,  and  hence  have  an  evangelistic  aim. 

Itineration  designates  a  certain  method,  or  rather  application  of 
methods,  which  has  been  peculiarly  characteristic  of  our  own  mission- 
ary efforts — so  much  so  that  we  may  be  called  pre-eminently  "an  itin- 
erating Mission." 

It  implies,  of  course,  movement  from  point  to  point  and  is  opposed 
to  that  policy  which  would  confine  work  chiefly  to  a  few  centers.  It 
carries  Christian  effort  not  only  to  cities,  but  also  as  far  as  possible  to 
the  towns  and  villages  of  the  outlying  district  and  seeks  to  reach  peo- 
ple of  every  class,  far  and  near. 

Three  varieties  of  this  kind  of  evangelism  may  be  mentioned,  corre- 
sponding respectively  to  three  different  kinds  of  temporary  homes  used 


186  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

during  the  work  of  itineration — namely,  tents,  public  houses  and  mis- 
sion buildings.  The  first  of  these  varieties  was  more  universally  exhib- 
ited in  former  days  than  at  present,  but  has  always  been  necessarily 
confined  to  the  coolest  part  of  the  year ;  that  is,  to  the  five  months  be- 
ginning October  15th  and  ending  March  15th.  Indeed,  seldom  is  the 
season  for  tenting  even  that  long.  The  other  two  varieties  are  of  later 
growth — the  third  last  of  all — and,  while  they  can  be  utilized  at  all 
seasons  of  the  year,  they  become  more  common  when,  on  account  of 
the  weather,  tenting  is  impossible,  and  especially  during  the  dry,  hot 
months  of  spring  and  early  summer. 

Itinerating  with  tents  has  generally  been  considered  the  most 
romantic,  interesting  and  attractive  feature — the  very  flower  indeed — 
of  missionary  life. 

For  some  days,  or  even  weeks,  preparation  must  be  made.  Tents 
must  be  purchased,  or  overhauled  and  repaired  ;  camels  must  be  hired, 
either  by  private  arrangement  or  through  the  intervention  of  a  govern- 
ment officer ;  camel  boxes — great  wooden  bags  or  panniers  made  with, 
or  without,  different  compartments — must  be  obtained  ;  wagons,  horses, 
harness,  saddles,  provisions,  clothing,  tent  furniture  and  all  other  nec- 
essary articles  must  be  got  ready ;  servants  and  Christian  helpers  must 
be  notified  ;  and  often  vexatious  delays  occur,  even  after  the  day  of 
departure  has  been  set.  The  camel  at  best  is  not  a  very  amiable  ani- 
mal, and  when  he  is  made  to  kneel  down  and  take  on  his  load,  his 
grunting  and  growling  and  awkward  attempts  to  rise  and  resist  the 
process,  furnish  an  impressive  and  sometimes  an  amusing  entertain- 
ment for  strangers. 

When  all  is  ready  and  the  caravan  begins  to  move  in  a  body  it  pre- 
sents a  curious  spectacle.  The  Sahib  and  his  family  in  a  two-wheeled 
cart  or  covered  spring-wagon,  the  Miss  Sahibas  on  ponies  or  in  a  tum- 
tum,  the  native  Christian  helpers,  mounted  as  best  they  can  be  or  not 
mounted  at  all,  the  servants  on  foot,  and  the  camels  with  their  irregu- 
lar and  motley  loads — tent  poles,  tent  coverings,  boxes,  bundles, 
trunks,  bags,  tables,  chairs,  carpets,  chests  of  drawers  and  charpais  be- 
ing all  jumbled  together  without  regard  to  symmetry  or  anything  else 
but  the  need  of  a  balance — form  a  cavalcade  whose  appearance  upon 
an  American  highway  would  attract  a  crowd  of  observers. 

For  some  time  the  journey,  forsooth,  lies  over  a  good  road  and  is 
destitute  of  remarkable  incident;  but  when  bypaths,  streams,  villages 
or  ravines  are  reached  the  case  is  likely  to  be  different.     Frequently 


ITINERA  TING   EXPERIENCES 


187 


the  road  is  so  rough  that  walking  is  preferred  to  riding  in  a  wagon. 
Sometimes  a  wheel  breaks  and  compels  the  occupants  of  a  tum-tum  to 
dismount.  Sometimes  a  camel  gets  frightened,  or  stuck  in  the  mud, 
or  loses  his  balance  in  ascending  an  embankment,  and  sad  havoc  is 
made  of  the  load  which  he  carries.  Occasionally  a  horse,  or  a  wheeled 
conveyance,  sinks  into  a  quicksand  when  crossing  a  river  and  only 
with  the  greatest  difficulty  can  be  extricated.  Sometimes  a  rider  is 
thrown  from  his  pony,  or  his  cart  upsets,  and  he  gets  a  sprained  ankle, 
or  meets  with  even  a  worse  disaster.  Sometimes  a  dust  storm  or  a 
shower    of    rain    appears    and    drives 

everybody   to   seek   the    nearest    and  ^^  •,,-•--    p^^t.--^--.-., 

best  possible  shelter. 

And,  as  the  pilgrims  jog  along,  in- 
teresting sights  greet  their  vision  : — 
first,  the  almost  continuous  stream  of 
travel  leading  in  the  opposite  direc- 
tion ;  people  of  every  faith  and  caste 
and  style  of  dress,  or  undress,  on  foot ; 
babies  carried  astride  the  shoulders  of 
men  or  the  sides  of  women  ;  ekkas 
overflowing  with  passengers  and,  like 
a  sleigh,  warning  everybody  of  their 
approach  by  jingling  bells;  great  carts 
heavily  laden  with  finely  broken  straw 
{bhusd)  or  some  other  farm  product; 
strings  of  cattle,  asses,  mules,  ponies 
or  camels  bearing  their  burdens  of 
grain  or  other  freight ;  men  and  women 
astride  of  donkeys,  mules  or  horses  ; 

a  chance  bhangiwala,  palanquin,  or  English  conveyance  ;  and  now  and 
then  a  bridal  procession  with  its  curtained  doli,  its  noisy  music  and 
its  indispensable  marriage  presents.  Green  fields,  creaking  well-wheels, 
singing  birds,  mud  villages,  half-brick  towns,  extensive  plains,  decep- 
tive mirages,  distant,  snow-covered  mountain  ranges,  flocks  of  geese, 
ducks  and  other  water  fowl  in  mid-air,  and  occasionally  jackals,  deer 
or  other  wild  animals,  also  form  features  of  the  passing  panorama,  or 
give  it  a  perpetual  background. 

When    the  missionaries'   destination  is  reached  an  encampment   is 
formed  in  the  midst  of  a  crowd  of  gaping  natives.     This  is  done  by 


BHANGIWALA. 


188  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

pitching  their  tents  on  public  ground  and  as  near  the  village  as  may 
be.  In  India  almost  every  town  has  a  common  at  one  side  which  can 
be  used  for  this  purpose. 

Five  tents,  at  least,  are  necessary  to  make  a  comfortable  and  reason- 
ably complete  missionary  encampment — one  for  the  Sahib  and  his 
family,  one  for  the  young  ladies,  one  for  the  native  Christian  workers, 
one  for  the  servants  and  one  for  preaching  services,  called  a  shainiana. 
The  first  of  these  contains  a  central  enclosure  perhaps  twelve  feet  in 
width  by  eighteen  or  twenty- four  feet  in  length,  with  its  end  frontward, 
which  is  curtained  off  transversely  into  two  apartments — one  back 
used  for  sleejoing  purposes,  anil  the  other  forward  (half  as  large),  which 
combines  sitting-room,  dining-room  and  study  all  in  one;  while  over 
the  whole  is  a  two-fold  canvas  roof  sloping  to  each  side.  Extending 
across  the  rear  is  also  a  rectangular  or  semicircular  bathroom,  and 
across  the  front  a  covered  veranda  of  similar  size  and  shape  which,  by 
being  enclosed,  may  be  utilized  to  increase  the  size  of  the  sitting-room. 
Over  the  earthen  floor  of  the  whole  tent  is  spread  a  common  Punjabi 
cotton  carpet,  called  a  dari,  and  at  one  end  of  the  sitting-room  is 
placed  a  small  stove  whose  pipe  extends  through  the  canvas  of  the 
tent ;  while  camp  tables,  chairs,  stools,  trunks,  beds,  washstands, 
writing-desks  and  other  necessary  articles,  occupy  their  appropriate 
places — mayhap  a  good  deal  crowded. 

The  young  ladies'  tent  is  of  somewhat  similar  character,  but  gener- 
ally smaller  ;  while  the  tents  for  natives  are  still  less  elaborate  and 
costly.  The  shamiana  is  a  square  tent  with  a  flat  top  and  upright  sides. 
Its  ground  floor  is  covered  either  with  a  cotton  carpet,  or  rough  matting, 
and  on  this  the  audience  sits — only  the  leaders  ofa  meeting  being  expect- 
ed to  occupy  stools.  But  the  shamiana  is  often  omitted  from  an  itiner- 
ating outfit,  and  in  that  case  services  must  be  held  in  one  of  the  other 
tents  or  in  the  open  air  outside — unless,  indeed,  there  is  a  village 
schoolhouse  or  church  in  the  neighborhood,  or  somebody  offers  a  pri- 
vate court  for  the  purpose. 

Not  far  away  from  the  tents  may  be  seen  the  wheeled  conveyances 
of  the  party  ;  while  horses  and  camels  (and  cows,  too,  if  there  be  any) 
are  tethered,  or  tied,  at  a  convenient  distance.  One  or  more  camp 
fires  also  enliven  the  scene  and  are  made  useful  for  warming  and  cook- 
ing purposes. 

At  night  particularly  the  scene  appears  weird  and  picturesque — 
cooks  preparing  meals  over  their  chulhas  (little  fireplaces,  made  of  mud 


VILLAGE    OFFICERS 


189 


or  a  few  bricks),  men  warming  themselves  at  the  open  fires,  lamps 
swinging  before  the  tents,  watchmen  pacing  backward  and  forward, 
servants  and  helpers  flitting  hither  and  thither,  horses  blanketed,  camels 
munching  green  fodder,  or  "  put  to  bed  "  side  by  side  with  blankets 
thrown  over  the  tops  of  their  saddles,  the  stars  shining  overhead 
and  perhaps  the  moon  pouring  down  its  pale  light — one  is  re- 
minded more  of  the  state  than  of  the  church  militant. 

Every  village  of  any  size  has  at  least  two  officers — a  headman,  called 
a  lamhardar,"^  and  a  watchman,  called   a   chaukidar.     Application  is 


BLUE    HERONS. 


often  made  to  the  former  for  fuel,  grass,  horse-feed  and  certain  kinds 
of  provisions — such  as  eggs,  milk,  fowls,  meat  and  perhaps  rice,  dal 
(lentils),  turnips  and  onions  ;  and,  when  at  all  friendly,  these  he 
furnishes,  if  he  can,  through  an  order  given  to  some  of  his  people. 
Of  course  they  are  paid  for.  The  chaukidar  is  also  expected  to  see 
that  no  harm  comes  to  the  encampment  from  theft  or  assault,  and 
sometimes  a  special  night  watchman  is  employed  from  the  village  as 
an  additional  security  against  damage.     This  throws  the  responsibility 

*  Some  towns  are  large  enough  to  have  several   lambardars,  one  of  whom  ranks 
the  others  and  is  called  an  ala-lambardar. 


190  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

where  it  will  do  the  most  good,  and  paves  the  way  for  a  quick  and  easy 
remedy  when  harm  is  done. 

Sometimes,  however,  no  dependence  is  placed  upon  village  officers 
for  help  during  the  work  of  itineration.  This  is  especially  the  case 
when,  because  of  the  indifference  or  unfriendliness  of  the  Deputy 
Commissioner,  or  for  some  other  reason,  the  lambardars  take  no  inter- 
est in  their  missionary  visitors.  Then  servants  either  get  supplies  as 
best  they  can  from  the  bazars,  or  the  Christians  of  the  place  (if  there 
be  any),  having  been  previously  notified,  see  that  abundant  provision  is 
made,  at  the  proper  time,  for  their  friends. 

By  common  law  camels  and  goats  can,  without  being  considered 
trespassers,  browse  on  any  shrubs  or  trees  which  may  be  found  in  their 
wanderings  ;  and  their  owners  even  cut  down  small  branches  of  foliage 
to  furnish  them  with  food.  Hence  camels  after  a  wearisome 
march  are  generally  turned  loose  to  get  something  to  eat,  and 
their  long  snake-like  necks,  winding  among  the  branches  of  the  trees 
or  stretched  up  to  an  enormous  height  in  an  effort  to  reach  tempting 
leaves,  constitute  one  of  the  curious  sights  of  an  Indian  encampment. 
Formerly,  too,  missionaries,  who,  like  other  Europeans,  are  allowed  to 
carry  firearms,  supplied  their  own  tables  with  meat  by  killing  ducks, 
geese,  partridges,  quails,  kunjes  and  even  deer;  but  the  custom  has 
almost  died  out,  partly  because  they  have  less  time  to  spare  for  the 
purpose,  and  partly  because  they  find  that  such  a  practice  prejudices 
the  minds  of  the  Hindus  against  their  work ;  for  this  class  of  religion- 
ists, theoretically  at  least,  hate  the  destruction  of  animal  life.  Water 
also  can  be  generally  had  from  a  village  well  without  extra  expense 
through  the  Muhammadaii  water-carrier  {bihishii)  who  accompanies  the 
missionaries  in  their  itineration. 

But  all  the  requisites  of  a  long  tour  cannot  be  supplied  in  any  of  the 
ways  which  we  have  mentioned.  Hence  a  messenger  must  be  occa- 
sionally sent  to  the  original  point  of  departure  for  many  articles,  need 
of  which  becomes  apparent  from  time  to  time.  This  messenger  also 
acts  as  a  mail  carrier. 

Religious  work  usually  begins  as  soon  as  a  missionary  party  reaches 
its  place  of  encampment,  and  becomes  a  little  settled.  Around  the 
laborers,  male  and  female,  collect  companies  of  men  and  women,  com- 
ing chiefly  perhaps  to  gratify  curiosity  or  obtain  medical  aid,  but  ready 
also  to  listen  to  the  message  of  him,  or  her,  who  brings  glad  tid- 
ings of  spiritual   good.     And   this  state  of   things  is  likely  to  con- 


RELIGIOUS    WORK  ON  A    TOUR  191 

tinue  all  day — the  audiences  constantly  making  up  their  losses  by  de- 
parture from  new  arrivals.  At  two  or  three  periods  of  the  day,  also, 
more  formal  services  may  be  held  in  the  preaching  tent  or  some  other 
suitable  place.  This  is  almost  certain  to  be  the  case  if  Christians  live 
in  the  neighborhood. 

But  work  is  not  confined  to  the  encampment  or  to  the  people  who 
visit  the  laborers  in  their  temporary  home.  The  gospel  is  carried  as 
far  as  possible  to  every  individual  in  the  village.  Preachers  go  to  the 
bazars,  and  back  streets,  and  low-caste  quarters ;  zenana  workers  visit 
the  homes  of  the  inhabitants;  and  everywhere,  in  every  manner,  an 
effort  is  made  to  disseminate  the  truth  and  dispel  superstition. 

Nor  are  other  villages  of  the  neighborhood  forgotten.  From  two  to 
four  days  are  usually  spent  at  each  place  of  encampment,  and,  on  days 
when  there  is  no  moving,  the  laborers  divide  into  two  or  more  parties 
and  each  party  visits  two  or  more  villages,  repeating  in  each  village 
the  efforts  which  have  already  been  described.  Thus  a  wide  circle  of 
evangelism  is  secured  at  every  center  which  is  occupied. 

But  other  work  is  also  performed  on  their  itinerating  tours.  The 
whole  round  of  missionary  duties  as  far  as  possible  must  be  carried 
along  with  the  party  and  fully  discharged.  Schools  must  he  inspected  ; 
native  Christians  must  be  examined  ;  new  converts  must  be  baptized  ; 
communion  services  must  be  held  ;  homes  for  village  workers  and  houses 
for  village  churches  must  be  secured  ;  reports  must  be  received  or  pre- 
pared ;  accounts  must  be  kept ;  correspondence  must  not  be  neglected, 
and  mothers  must  see  to  the  instruction  of  their  children. 

Nor  are  the  experiences  of  the  camp  always  lovely.  Sometimes  the  sun 
at  midday  makes  it  too  hot  for  people  to  remain  in  tents  and  drives 
them  under  the  shade  of  an  umbrageous  tree.  Occasionally  rain  pours 
down  in  such  quantities  that  the  tents  and  much  of  their  contents  are 
completely  saturated,  and  it  becomes  impossible  either  to  move  the  en- 
campment or  to  occupy  it  in  comfort.  Sometimes  the  wind  and  dust 
storms  give  a  good  deal  of  trouble.  Now  and  then  village  officers  are 
unfriendly  and  greatly  obstruct  our  movements.  Sometimes  thieves 
enter  the  tents  and  carry  away  valuables.  In  this  way  one  of  our  young 
ladies,  in  1883,  ^^st  nearly  a  month's  salary,  besides  articles  of  apparel, 
while  another  had  her  medicine  chest  rifled.  Sometimes  the  night  is  made 
fearful  by  the  howling  of  jackals,  dogs  and  even  wolves.  Now  and  then 
the  smells  of  a  locality  become  unendurable.  Sometimes  mad  dogs,  or 
crazy  fakirs,  give  great  annoyance,  especially  to  the  ladies.     Sometimes 


192 


LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 


a  camel  dies  from  rain  and  cold,  or  a  saddening  accident  hapi)ens  to 
an  employee — as  was  the  case  at  Dinanagar  in  1891,  when  one  of  the 
camel  men,  who  was  cutting  limbs  off  a  tree,  fell  to  the  ground  and 
received  fatal  injuries.  Often,  too,  the  annoyance  felt  from  a  con- 
tinual stream  of  native  visitors  becomes  painful.  Said  one  who  has 
now  gone  to  her  long  rest,  "It  is  not  altogether  the  work  which 
wears  me  out.  When  from  morning  to  night,  women  and  children — 
and  men  too — come,  one  company  after  another,  crowding  around  the 
door,  peeping  through  the  chicks^  or  lifting  them  up,  looking  upon 
white  people,  their  clothing  and  their  manner  of   living,  as  a  great 


%\w^«fr-^'^' 


JACKAL. 

tamasha,^  it  can  be  borne  a  few  days  very  well,  but  after  a  few  months 
it  becomes  monotonous.  It  is  true  we  can  have  them  driven  back  from 
the  tent,  and  often  have  to  do  so  for  a  while  ;  but  it  would  not  do  to 
drive  them  away  altogether.  We  might  as  well  stay  at  home  if  we  did 
so." 

The  second  variety  of  itinerating  work  differs  from  that  already  de- 
scribed in  the  substitution  of  public  houses  for  tents  while  on  a  tour. 
These  public  houses  are  chiefly  dak  (stage)  bungalows,  rest  houses  at- 
tached to  native  inns,  and  police  bungalows. |  The  two  former  can 
be  occupied  at  a  fixed  daily  rent-rate,  while  the  last  can  be  had  only 

*  Curtains  made  of  slit  bamboos  woven  together  with  cord. 

f  Show,  entertaining  sight.  %  See  pp.  81,  82. 


ITINERATING   IN  BOATS  193 

through  the  courtesy  of  police  officers — a  courtesy,  however,  which  is 
often  extended  to  missionaries.  Hindu  dharmsalas — that  is,  lodging- 
places  for  pilgrim  Hindus — have  also  sometimes,  though  rarely,  been 
granted  for  the  use  of  a  Christian  laborer. 

The  third  variety  of  itinerating  work  differs  from  the  latter  in  the 
substitution  of  mission  for  public  houses.  These  may  be  chapels, 
school  buildings  or  small  bungalows.  Of  late  years  such  houses  have 
been  multiplied  within  our  borders,  and  in  the  future  many  more  will 
probably  be  erected.  Either  the  second  or  the  third  variety,  or  both 
combined,  must  be  adopted  in  seasons  when,  on  account  of  the 
weather,  itinerating  with  tents  is  impossible  ;  and,  although  at  present 
less  flexible  tlian  the  first,  it  is  probable  that,  on  account  of  their  greater 
cheapness,  they  (especially  the  last  named)  will  gradually  supersede 
tenting  at  all  seasons  as  the  work  advances  and  more  lodging  places  are 
established.* 

These  varieties,  moreover,  involve  less  trouble  than  the  first.  They 
do  not  require  such  elaborate  preparations  and  such  a  caravan  of 
beasts,  wagons  or  men.  Just  in  proportion  to  the  curtailment  experi- 
enced in  this  respect,  however,  does  the  romance  connected  with  itin- 
eration diminish,  while  some  comforts  connected  with  the  first  method 
must  also  be  dispensed  with. 

Notliing  has  been  said  of  boats  as  a  means  of  travel  and  shelter  dur- 
ing evangelistic  tours  because  they  have  heretofore  been  little  used 
anywhere  in  India,  except  perhaps  in  Kashmir.  But  the  time  is  com- 
ing when  they  will  doubtless  be  utilized  more  than  they  are  now.  We 
have  several  Districts  in  our  own  Mission  where  they  would  answer  a 
good  purpose.  Especially  is  this  the  case  with  Jhang.  Jhang  is  trav- 
ersed by  the  Jhelum  and  the  Chenab  rivers  ;  and,  as  the  country  not 
watered  by  these  streams  is  largely  desert,  most  of  the  towns  and  the 
population  are  located  on  or  near  their  banks  and  can  be  easily  reached 
by  boat.  The  day,  therefore,  may  not  be  far  distant  when  a  mission- 
ary vessel  will  play  as  important  a  part  there  as  the  Ibis  does  on  the 
Nile  in  Egypt. 

Itineration,  with  us,  has  proved  to  be  an  exceedingly  fruitful  means 
of  disseminating  truth  and  making  converts  to  Christianity.  This  is 
due  probably,  under  God,  to  the  number  and  the  character  of  the 
people  who  have  been  reached.  Perhaps  ten  times  as  many  different 
persons  are  in  this  way  made  to  hear  the  gospel  as  could  be  brought 

*  Indeed,  tenting,  even  among  the  civil  officers,  is  not  as  common  as  it  once  was. 
13 


(194) 


CONGREGATIONAL    EVANGELISM  195 

to  hear  it  with  the  same  efforts  in  a  large  city,  and  especially  in  a 
central  station  which  had  been  occupied  by  missionaries  for  years. 
And  then  the  classes  met  with  are  not  usually  so  rich,  or  j)roud,  or 
caste-bound  as  city  people  are.  Many  of  them  are  poor  and  humble  ; 
many  belong  to  the  depressed  tribes ;  many  are  outcastes. 

Itineration  has  also  grown  to  be  an  indispensable  means  of  inspecting 
and  edifying  native  Christians  and  native  churches.  So  great,  indeed, 
has  this  work  become  that  evangelization  proper  has  been  reduced  to 
a  secondary  and  somewhat  incidental  place  among  the  labors  of  a 
touring  evangelist.  But  remarks  on  this  aspect  of  the  subject  will  be 
more  appropriate  in  Chapters  XX  and  XXIII. 

The  services  held  in  congregations,  organized  and  unorganized,  in- 
cluding, not  only  regular  preaching  on  the  Lord's  day,  but  also  Sab- 
bath schools,  prayer  meetings  and  the  local  mission  work  of  pastors, 
elders  and  members,  may  be  mentioned  as  another  important  factor  in 
our  evangelistic  efforts,  as  well  as  in  the  edification  of  God's  people. 
The  preaching  of  a  settled  minister,  or  a  "supply,"  is  often  attended 
by  persons  who  are  not  Christians,  and,  where  schools  have  been  esta- 
blished, the  number  of  such  hearers  has  sometimes  amounted  to  hun- 
dreds. The  same  thing  may  be  said  of  Sabbath  schools.  Many  of 
the  scholars  are  unconverted — Hindus,  Muhammadans,  Sikhs  and  low- 
caste  people,  both  children  and  adults.  Indeed,  sometimes  a  nucleus 
of  Christian  pupils  does  not  appear  in  such  schools  at  all ;  they  are 
wholly  missionary  in  their  character.  Occasionally  also  congregations 
employ  special  workers  to  labor  among  unconverted  people  under  the 
direction  of  their  ecclesiastical  superiors. 

Even  under  past  conditions  the  benefit  of  such  influences,  emanating 
constantly  from  each  of  our  congregational  centers,  has  been  worthy 
of  notice  ;  and  when  churches  are  more  fully  organized, become  settled 
with  well  qualified  pastors,  secure  missionary  rights  within  well  under- 
stood boundaries,  obtain  suitable  and  properly  located  church  build- 
ings, are  relieved  from  all  hampering  restrictions  and  are  made  to  feel 
that  the  progress  of  Christianity  in  their  neighborhood  depends  mainly 
on  their  efforts,  we  may  expect  not  only  that  their  liberality  and  piety 
will  be  increased,  but  that  their  evangelistic  movements  and  evangelis- 
tic success  will  be  multiplied  many  fold. 

But  in  our  experience  the  initial  work  of  making  new  converts  has 
been  accomplished  more  through  the  personal  and  private  efforts  of 
the  common  members  of  the  church  than  through  any  other  agency— 


196  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

more  indeed,  perhaps,  than  through  all  other  agencies  combined.  As 
natives  generally  have  more  to  do  with  this  Avork  than  foreigners,  so 
the  common  people,  as  a  class,  have  more  to  do  with  it  than  native 
ministers  and  paid  helpers.  When  a  man  finds  the  Saviour  and  em- 
braces Christianity,  Andrew-like,  he  goes  at  once  to  his  brother  and 
makes  known  the  fact  and  strives  to  get  him  to  follow  his  example. 
Neighbors,  relatives,  friends,  in  his  own  and  other  villages,  are  thus 
reached  by  close  contact  and  by  the  strongest  personal  influence  which 
can  be  brought  to  bear  upon  them.  And  the  leaven  spreads  from  his 
converts  to  others,  and  from  them  to  others,  and  so  on  until  a  wide 
circle  is  reached.  Sometimes,  before  a  final  decision  is  made,  scores 
of  people  are  thus  brought  into  a  state  of  inquiry,  and  when  the  time 
for  action  comes  all  move  in  a  body  and  ask  to  be  baptized.  This 
is  especially  the  case  with  those  who  belong  to  the  depressed  classes. 

True  the  native  worker,  technically  so-called,  and  the  missionary 
have  each  their  part  to  fulfill.  The  former  follows  up  what  has  been 
accomplished  by  non-official  inferiors  and  does  all  he  can  to  give  new 
inquirers  a  correct  knowledge  of  the  Christian  religion  ;  while  the 
latter  inspects,  instructs,  exhorts,  sifts  and  receives  into  the  church 
those  who  make  a  credible  profession  of  faith.  There  are  many  cases, 
indeed,  in  which  new  converts  hear  the  first  sound  of  the  gospel  from 
the  lips  of  a  native  or  a  foreign  minister  ;  but  such,  it  may  be  confi- 
dently asserted,  is  not  the  general  rule.  Before  his  voice  reaches 
them  another  and  humbler  agent  has  extended  to  them  the  blessed 
news  of  a  Saviour.  They  have  enjo3'ed  the  benefit  of  that  gracious 
provision,  ''Let  him  that  heareth  say,  Come." 

The  value  of  a  consistent  character,  pure  motives  and  sincere  love,  in 
connection  with  all  the  methods  of  evangelization  which  we  have 
named,  ought  not  to  be  overlooked.  Ignorant  and  educated  heathen 
alike  can  appreciate  the  presence  or  the  absence  of  these  qualities. 
And  what  a  powerful  influence  they  exert  !  Not  many  years  ago  an 
Arya  lawyer  of  Amritsar  was  convinced  of  the  truth  pf  Christianity,  it 
is  said,  by  the  condescending  humility  of  a  "  Church  "  missionary,  the 
Rev.  H.  E.  Perkins.  This  missionary  had  formerly  been  a  Commis- 
sioner in  the  civil  service,  and  the  lawyer  had  seen  him  enjoying  the 
jjlenitude  of  power  and  honor  which  belong  to  that  high  office.  Now 
he  saw  him  sitting  on  a  small  carpet  at  a  Hindu  fair,  distributing 
tracts,  and  speaking  to  the  poor  people  about  Christ,  The  contrast 
was  so  vivid  as  to  lead  to  his  conversion.     He  could  not  but  feel  that 


HIGH  CHARACTER  NEEDED   BY  EVANGELISTS 


197 


a  religion  which  produced  such  results  must  be  genuine.  The  man, 
who  does  not  practice  what  he  preaches,  who  sliows  that  lie  is  influ- 
enced in  his  work  by  selfish  or  worldly  motives,  who  takes  no  heart 
interest  in  his  hearers,  who  looks  down  upon  them  with  contempt, 
may  perchance  be  used  as  the  instrument  of  God  in  saving  souls  ;  but 
such  is  not  likely  to  be  the  case.  It  is  the  sincere,  self-sacrificing, 
hardworking,  kindhearted,  sympathetic,  spiritually-minded  minister, 
or  lay  worker,  who,  in  India  as  well  as  elsewhere,  is  usually  blest  to  the 
salvation  of  the  lost.  The  people  must  feel  that  the  preacher  or 
teacher  loves  them  and  is  seeking  their  highest  good. 

Nay  more,  they  sometimes  require  him  to  attest  the  truth  by  his 
own  religious  experience.  A  Muhammadan  woman,  who  was  disposed 
to  cavil,  once  exacted  this  proof  from  one  of  our  missionary  ladies. 
Sitting  close  to  her,  and  looking  her  steadfastly  in  the  eye,  she  asked 
the  latter  about  her  personal  trust  in  the  Saviour  and  her  personal  hope 
of  everlasting  life — examining  her  in  a  way  which  surpassed  the  strict- 
ness of  the  Session  by  which  she  was  admitted  into  the  church.  Such 
replies  were  received  as  stopped  all  cavilling  on  the  inquirer's  part,  for 
she  said,  "  I  suppose  it  is  all  true,"  although  she  did  add,  "but  I  can- 
not understand  it."  Testimony-bearing,  when  it  comes  from  honest 
lips,  is  certainly  a  powerful  means  of  convincing  and  converting  sin- 
ners :  and,  although  it  has  been  seldom  used  in  its  technical  sense  by 
our  workers,  as  Methodists  require,  there  is  no  doubt  that  without  its 
real  exhibition  in  the  conduct,  manner  and  life  of  our  laborers  little 
good  would  have  been  accomplished.  Blessed  is  the  Christian  worker 
who  shows  in  his  every  movement  that  his  "  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in 
God."     He  is  likely  to  be  a  winner  of  souls. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

EVANGELISTIC  WORK— V 

Through  Forms  and   Ceremonies — Apologies — Controversy — Worldly   Influences — 
Ascelicism  and  Fakirisni. 

fNLY  a  Step  forward  leads  us  to  observe  that  we  place 
less  dependence  upon  forms  and  ceremonies  in  our  evan- 
gelistic work  than  upon  the  simple  preaching  of  the 
gospel.  Earnest,  extemporaneous  i)rayer,  heartily  sung 
bhajans,  the  reading  of  God's  word,  plain  statements  of  divine 
truth,  warm  exhortations  to  repent  and  accept  Christ — these,  in 
ever-varying  phase,  constitute  the  main  staple  of  our  missionary  ser- 
vices. Our  great  aim  is  to  make  people  acquainted  with  their  lost  and 
undone  condition  by  nature  and  with  their  only  way  of  escape  from 
impending  wrath.  The  introduction  of  a  ritual  into  bazar  preaching, 
or  itinerating  efforts,  would  seem  to  us  as  useless  as  it  would  be  ridicu- 
lous. Such  a  course  might  make  good  Roman  Catholics,  or  Church 
formalists,  but,  in  our  opinion,  would  only  hinder  the  work  of  heart 
conversion.  It  is  the  kernel,  not  the  husk  of  Christianity  which  we  are 
seeking  most  to  produce. 

Nor  do  we  find  that  the  heathen  are  specially  attracted  by  mere  forms. 
They  have  enough  of  these  in  connection  with  their  own  faith.  If  they 
make  a  change  of  religion  at  all  they  are  more  likely  to  pass  clear  over 
to  spiritual  Christianity  than  to  do  anything  else.  This  no  doubt  is  the 
reason  why  Roman  Catholics  succeed  better  when  they  "  missionate  " 
among  Protestant  converts  than  among  Hindus.  Idolatry  and  Popery 
are  too  much  alike. 

Nor  have  we  depended  much  upon  controversy,  or  even  apologetics, 
for  the  conversion  of  souls.  True,  the  evidences  of  Christianity  are 
often  taught,  especially  in  schools,  and  sometimes  form  the  necessary 
antecedent  of  real  faith  ;  and,  wliere  people's  minds  are  filled  with 
superstitious  notions  and  wrong  religious  principles,  and  even  cham- 
(198) 


AID   FROM  REMNANTS    OF   TRUTH  IN  HEATHENISM     199 

pions  of  error  are  found  ready  to  uphold  it  with  tongue  and  pen,  con- 
troversy cannot  be  altogether  avoided.  It  forces  itself  upon  us  in  the 
caviling  of  opponents,  in  the  honest  doubts  of  inquirers  and  even  in 
the  clear  definition  of  Bible  doctrine.  Every  phase  of  truth  has  its 
corresponding  phase  of  error,  and  a  refutation  of  the  latter  will  some- 
times bring  out  into  bolder  relief  the  correctness  and  the  beauty  of  the 
former.  Besides,  there  is  a  sense  in  which  men  must  be  emptied  of 
false  principles  before  they  are  prepared  to  receive  those  that  are  true. 

But  no  religion  is  entirely  destitute  of  correct  principles,  and  no 
adherents  of  a  false  faith  are  so  completely  filled  with  error  as  to  reject 
every  vestige  of  truth.  By  emphasizing  whatever  good  remains,  its 
importance  will  be  more  fully  appreciated  by  those  who  hold  it,  and 
hope  may  be  entertained  that  it  will  quietly  dislodge  some  of  the  follies 
with  which  it  has  been  unnaturally  associated.  And  then,  such  rem- 
nants of  a  primitive  religion  may  be  utilized  as  the  seed  of  something 
better — the  stock  on  which  may  be  grafted  the  teachings  of  a  higher 
revelation.  But  even  if  not,  great  confidence  may  be  placed  in  the 
self-evidencing  and  illuminating  power  of  inspired,  heaven-taught 
truth.  As  natural  darkness  is  most  easily  displaced  by  the  introduc- 
tion of  light,  so  the  simple,  eternal  verities  of  God's  gracious  Word 
have  been  found  the  best  means  of  dispelling  spiritual  darkness.  One 
ray  of  gospel  fact  will  put  to  flight  a  whole  host  of  armed  doubts  and 
entrenched  idolatries.  Once  get  a  hearer  clearly  under  the  beams  of 
the  Sun  of  Righteousness  and  little  difficulty  will  be  experienced  in 
dealing  with  his  pantheistic  or  superstitious  errors;  nor  will  the  ques- 
tion of  Christ's  divinity  or  God's  trinity  trouble  him  long.  Gordian 
knots  are  then  untied  "  without  hands."  Everything  adapts  itself  to 
the  new  situation.     Old  things  pass  away. 

Public  oral  debate,  moreover,  in  India,  as  well  as  elsewhere,  depends 
so  much  on  the  character  of  the  persons  engaged  in  it  and  the  cir- 
cumstances by  which  it  is  surrounded  that,  except  under  rare  conditions, 
it  is  not  safe  to  rest  the  truth  on  its  issues.  This  was  illustrated  in  May 
and  June,  1893,  by  a  celebrated  debate  between  some  Christians  and 
Muhammadans  in  Amritsar,  in  which,  even  according  to  the  judgment 
of  our  brethren,  the  victory  of  the  former  was  a  matter  of  doubt,  and 
in  consequence  of  which  houses  even  as  far  away  as  Sialkot  were  closed 
to  tlie  admission  of  zenana  workers.  Readiness  of  wit,  aggressive  and 
persuasive  eloquence,  happy  repartees,  bold  assumptions,  plausible 
sophistries,  or  the  cheers  of  a  sympathetic  audience,  may  easily  turn 


Zabttr  19.* 


D.S. 


I    !>!>:H?''i»i*IP^»*  I— ^— i-HH— ^i^fl 


Chorus. — Asman  ba-yan  |  karde  Khud-  (  a  de  kam  \  sare 
Karde  haD  j  Rabb  di  wadi-  [  a-  [  i. 

1.  Din  karde  J  rahnde  din-  ]  an  nala  [galian 
Bat  bakhshdi  {  rat  nun  dan-  ]  a-  |  i. 

2.  Na  hai  zu-  ]  ban  na  a-  |  waz  snni  ]  jandi 
Tar  zam-  J  in  mcha,  ]  la-  ]  i. 

3.  Sari  za,:-  j  tnln  dean  |  kandean  |  tori 
Apni  1  gal  bhi.pahunch-  |  a-  |  i. 

4.  Tambu  ban-  |  ayS-  Rabb  |  ne  suraj  de  1  layi 
Uhnan  wich  j  rakbi  unchh-  1  a-  |  i. 

5.  Lire  de  ]  wangar  mai-  |  dan  wich  jo  |  daurda 
Daurne  de  1  nal  khnshi-  |  a-  1  i. 

6.  AjBmin  de  I  kande  thon  |  due  Icande  |  gbflmda 
Sabnan  nUn.  |  de^dl  rosb-  j  pa*  |  i> 

*  The  Ninteenth  Psalm  in  Oriental  meter — a  ohajan. 
(200) 


CONTROVERSY  IN  EVANGELISTIC    WORK  201 

the  tide  of  conflict  in  popular  estimation  against  those  who  are  the 
advocates  of  truth  and  righteousness.  Such  champions  as  the  late 
Rev.  E.  P.  Swift,  in  such  places  as  Gujranwala,  may  indeed  gain  some 
advantage  in  tournaments  of  this  character,  as  once  this  minister  did 
in  debating  with  the  distinguished  Dayananda  Saraswati  shortly  before 
the  latter's  death.  And  sometimes  Providence  in  a  wonderful  manner 
eventually  overrules  a  temporary  defeat  to  the  advancement  of  His 
cause.  This  was  true  even  in  the  case  of  the  debate  at  Amritsar  to 
which  reference  has  just  been  made.  In  the  flush  of  supposed  victory 
Mirza  Gulam  Ahmed,  of  Kadian,  the  Goliath  of  Islam,  was  bold  enough 
and  impudent  enough  to  predict  the  death  of  his  opponent,  Judge 
Abdulla  Athim,  within  fifteen  months  from  that  date ;  but,  in  spite  of 
his  age  and  ill  health  and  the  efforts  made  by  Muhammadans,  through 
the  use  of  a  poisonous  cobra,  and  otherwise,  to  insure  the  fulfillment  of 
this  prophecy,  the  latter  outlived  the  period  allotted  him  and,  through 
his  preservation,  became  the  occasion,  if  not  the  cause,  of  many  con- 
versions. But  such  results  are  not  always  to  be  expected.  In  most 
cases  it  is  undoubtedly  better  to  avoid  public  debate  altogether,  or,  if  it 
must  be  engaged  in,  to  have  it  carried  on  through  the  printed  page.  * 

No  doubt  a  time  of  greater  controversy  is  before  us.  Modern 
heathenism  will  not  die  any  more  easily  than  ancient  heathenism  did. 
Its  struggles,  too,  will  certainly  become  more  violent  as  the  end  ap- 
proaches. It  \\\\\  then  have  to  be  dealt  with  as  the  circumstances  re- 
quire. But  Julian  the  Apostate's  day  is  still  in  the  future;  and  until 
it  comes  we  may  hope  that  Christianity  will  continue  to  be  advanced 
in  India  more  successfully  by  a  dogmatic  and  irenic,  rather  than  a 
polemic  style  of  preaching.  Even  apologetics  will  continue  to  hold  a 
subordinate  place,  as  it  has  heretofore  done  with  us. 

It  seems  almost  superfluous  to  say  that  worldly  influences  have  not 
been  used  by  us  to  obtain  converts  or  secure  their  steadfastness  in  their 
Christian  profession.  Yet  the  charge  that  we  did  so  has  been  made 
against  us,  as  well  as  against  other  Missions,  by  unfriendly  critics  and 
superficial  observers.  And  there  are  some  facts,  too,  which  give  the 
color  of  truth  to  this  charge.  New  converts  from  the  higher  classes  must 
often  have  a  living  provided  for  them,  for  the  simple  reason  that  they 
are  cast  out  penniless  from  their  former  homes  and,  unless  they  obtain 
a  living  or  means  of  livelihood  through  us,  they  must  starve — a  result 
which  we  would  not  of  course  allow.  And  even  among  low-caste 
*  See  remarks  on  bazar  preaching,  pp.  157,  1 58,  227,  228. 


202  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

converts,  who,  on  account  of  their  undisturbed  home  relations,  are 
more  independent  pecuniarily,  it  has  sometimes  been  thought  best  to 
select  and  employ  one  or  more  influential  men  in  each  neighborhood 
to  assist  in  the  care  and  the  instruction  of  the  people  there;  and 
the  hope  of  being  so  employed  has  perliaps  operated  in  certain  cases 
as  a  stimulus  to  early  and,  it  may  be  also,  hasty  profession.  As 
one  characteristic  of  our  policy  also  is  to  educate  those  wlio  profess 
Christianity  so  far  at  least  that  they  can  read  and  write,  and  to  choose 
bright  youths  for  further  instruction  in  advanced  schools,  so  that  they 
may  be  fitted  for  teaching  or  preaching,  the  prospect  of  such  advant- 
ages may  have  had  some  effect  in  leading  men  to  embrace  Christianity. 
Besides,  it  was  doubtless  felt  by  many  poor  people  that  the  change 
from  an  outcaste  condition  to  that  of  brotherhood  in  religion  with  the 
ruling  race,  was  a  distinct  rise  in  civil  and  social  standing  ;  and  this 
also  may  have  had  an  attractive  power. 

Sucli  influences,  however,  have  not  been  used  designedly  for  this 
purpose  but,  on  the  contrary,  every  effort  has  been  made  to  divert  at- 
tention from  them  and  to  reduce  them  to  the  lowest  possible  limit 
which  was  consistent  with  other  obligations.  Promises  of  money,  sup- 
port, employment  or  land  were  never  made  to  any  on  condition  that 
they  become  Christians,  and,  when  such  subjects  were  mentioned  by 
inquirers,  higher  and  purer  motives  were  faithfully  set  before  them. 
They  were  given  to  understand  that  true  Christianity  was  spiritual  in 
its  nature  and,  while  including  much  earthly  good,  looked  above  and 
beyond  such  temporal  benefits  to  those  blessings  which  are  heavenly 
and  eternal  and  unspeakably  more  important  in  their  character.  So 
anxious,  indeed,  have  we  been  to  avoid  even  the  appearance  of  bribery 
in  our  evangelistic  work  that  possibly  we  have  gone  too  far  in  the  op- 
posite direction  and  have  refrained  from  giving  that  amount  of  tem- 
poral assistance  to  the  struggling  Christian  community  which  may  be 
necessary,  not  only  as  a  means  of  their  defense  against  proselyting 
neighbors,  but  also  as  a  means  of  securing  their  speedy  advancement 
towards  the  goal  of  a  comfortable  living,  high  civilization  and  eccle- 
siastical maturity. 

Some  applicants  for  admission  to  the  church,  however,  manifest 
wonderful  ignorance  of  the  real  nature  of  the  Christian  religion  and 
exhibit  motives  for  embracing  it  of  such  a  singular,  sordid  and  amus- 
ing character  that  readers  of  this  book  will  doubtless  be  interested  in 
two  or  three  specimens. 


WORLDLY  AND  AMUSING  APPLICANTS  FOR  BAPTISM      203 

Once  a  man  frcm  Pasrur  came  to  me  and  wanted  ba|)tism  pet  ke 
waste,  as  be  said — that  is,  for  his  stomach's  sake.  He  liad  had  a  hard 
time  getting  along  as  a  Muhammadan  and  thought  that  he  could  suc- 
ceed better  in  making  a  living  if  he  were  a  Christian.  Of  course  he 
expected  the  missionaries  to  give  him  employment,  and  money  too. 
This  is  a  common  motive  with  Mussalman  inquirers — one,  moreover, 
with  which  they  are  familiar  in  the  propagation  of  their  own  religion — ■ 
but  it  is  not  often  professed  so  honestly  and  so  innocently. 

Another  man  came  to  Mr.  Lytle  and  wished  baptism,  stating  that  his 
relatives  had  treated  him  badly  and  he  wished  to  disgrace  them  as  much 
as  possible.  He  could  think  of  no  more  effectual  way  of  bringing  dis- 
honor upon  their  name  than  by  himself  becoming  a  despisedand  hated 
Isai  (Christian).  Had  his  self-sacrificing  spirit  arisen  from  love  instead 
of  revenge  it  might  have  been  touching.  As  it  was,  it  provoked  a 
smile. 

Another  man,  a  Muhammadan,  well  educated  and  of  good  address, 
applied  to  Dr.  McKee  in  1885  for  admission  to  the  church,  but  at  the 
close  of  his  conversation  stated  that  there  was  one  indispensable  con- 
dition of  his  becoming  a  Christian — he  must  be  given  an  English  or 
an  American  wife  ! 

One  is  reminded  by  these  incidents  of  what  Augustine  says  of  the 
people  of  his  day.  "  How  many,"  he  complains,  "seek  Jesus  only  that 
he  may  benefit  them  in  earthly  things  !  One  man  has  a  lawsuit,  so  he 
seeks  the  intercession  of  the  clergy.  Another  is  oppressed  by  his 
superior,  so  he  takes  refuge  in  the  church  ;  and  still  another  that  he  may 
secure  the  wife  of  his  choice.  The  church  is  full  of  such  persons. 
Seldom  is  Jesus  sought  for  Jesus'  sake."  Yet  this  is  a  vast  exaggera- 
tion as  far  as  our  own  case  is  concerned.  What  Augustine  supposed  to 
be  general  in  his  own  time  represents  only  exceptions  with  us. 

Another  method  of  evangelization,  practiced  by  some  and  advocated 
by  others,  which  has  not  been  adopted  by  us,  demands  more  than  a 
passing  notice.*  In  its  most  extreme  form  it  is  called 7^/(v>/i-w,  but  it 
admits  of  different  varieties  according  to  the  amount  of  austerity 
and  self-sacrifice  which  they  respectively  exhibit — the  common  element 
being  a  greater  degree  of  these  characteristics  than  missionaries  and 
native  Christian  workers  at  present  generally  exhibit. 

*For  the  simple  reason  that  the  propriety  of  its  adoption  has  often  been  a  burn- 
ing question  in  mission  fields  and  has  not  by  any  means  been  settled  to  the  satisfac- 
tion of  all  Christians,  either  at  home  or  abroad. 


204 


LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 


In  tlie  India  of  to-day  there  are  at  least  three  distinct  modes  of  liv- 
ing— the  official  Anglo-Indian,  the  Eurasian  and  the  Native.  The 
first  is  adopted  by  civil  and  military  officers  of  European  origin  and 
by  all  foreigners  and  Eurasians  who  can  afford  it.  While  appropriating 
to  itself  anything  desirable  that  is  peculiar  to  the  East  it  seeks  also  to 
retain  as  far  as  possible  all  the  comforts  and  advantages  of  higli  Occi- 
dental civilization.  The  second  is  adopted  not  only  by  Eurasians  gen- 
erally but  by  poor  whites  and  aspiring  Christian  natives.     It  is  not 

of  course  so  expensive  or  luxu- 
rious as  the  former  and  em- 
braces more  articles  and  cus- 
toms of  purely  Indian  origin. 
The  third  is  that  adopted  by 
the  natives  generally. 

Each  of  these  styles,  how- 
ever, comprehends  a  large  num- 
ber of  gradations,  correspond- 
ing to  differences  of  taste,  rank, 
wealth  and  economy.  As  the 
Viceroy's  table  and  equipage 
are  superior  to  that  of  an  Assis- 
tant Commissioner  or  an  army 
Lieutenant,  although  botli  are 
Anglo-Indians,  so  are  a  native 
Rajah's  house  and  clothing  in- 
comparably superior  to  those 
of  a  coolie,  altliough  both  are  natives;  while  between  the  extremes 
given,  in  either  case,  there  are  many  rungs  to  the  social  ladder. 

Separate,  too,  from  all  of  these  is  the  manner  in  which  a  fakir  lives. 
The  fakir  is  a  sacred  man,  a  religious  devotee.  His  life  is  consecrated 
to  the  pursuit  of  "  piety  "  and  the  advancement  of  his  own  religion. 
He  may  be  a  Hindu,  a  Mussalman,  a  Sikh,  a  Buddhist,  or  an  adherent 
of  some  other  faith.  He  may  belong  to  a  secret  fraternity  of  his  own 
order,  or  he  may  be  an  independent  worker.  He  has  taken  on  him- 
self the  vows  of  celibacy,  poverty  and  perhaps  obedience.  He  wanders 
about  from  point  to  point  and  has  no  home  except  the  "  religious 
house  "  to  which  he  is  attached.  He  scorns  work  and  has  no  means 
of  livelihood  except  begging.  His  clothing,  whatever  he  has,  is  of  a 
peculiar  cut  and  color  and  betokens,  not  only  his  profession,  but  also 


CHRISTIAN   WORKERS— THEIR   MODES   OF  LIVING        205 

the  particular  sect  of  fakirs  with  which  he  is  connected.  His  hair  is  long, 
curly,  matted  or  covered  with  dirt.  His  body  from  head  to  foot,  is 
perhaps  besprinkled  with  ashes.  Sometimes  he  practices  great  austeri- 
ties— fasting,  self-torture,  long  pilgrimages  and  difficult  tasks.  Often 
he  is  a  bad  man — a  liar,  a  thief,  a  confidence  man,  a  rake  or  a  mur- 
derer— and  almost  always  he  is  an  impudent  fellow.  The  people  fear 
and  sometimes  honor  him — and  hence  feed  him  ;  although  they  often 
see  through  his  trickery  and  despise  him.  But  on  the  whole  he  is  no 
doubt  one  of  the  chief  supporters  and  propagators  of  the  religion  to 
which  he  is  attached.  Romanath  Chowdry  goes  so  far  as  to  call  the 
ascetics  of  India  "  the  captain-generals  of  Hinduism." 

Now,  advocates  of  the  Christian  faith  in  India  exhibit  almost  all  these 
modes  of  living,  while  engaged  in  disseminating  the  truth.  Most 
Protestant  foreign  missionaries  adopt  a  humble  variety  of  the  first 
method  named.  Some  who  have  smaller  salaries  drift  downward  very 
closely  to  the  Eurasian  style.  Members  of  the  Oxford  Brotherhood  at 
Calcutta  and  the  Cambridge  Mission  at  Delhi  cling  to  the  Anglo-In- 
dian mode,  but  live  in  common  and,  like  fakirs,  remain  unmarried. 
Roman  Catholic  missionaries  combine  the  Eurasian  method  with  the 
celibacy  and  the  other  vows  of  their  monastic  orders.  Native  minis- 
ters and  other  laborers  usually  exhibit  the  ordinary  native  styles  of 
dress  and  housekeeping,  although  these  of  course  vary  in  character  ac- 
cording to  their  monthly  pay.  Salvation  Army  people  of  European 
origin  also  attempted  at  the  outset  to  live  altogether  as  natives  do,  and 
some  of  them  even  went  so  far  as  to  become  fakirs  ;  but  later,  for 
health's  sake,  many  of  their  practices  in  this  matter  had  to  be  aban- 
doned. Christian  natives  have  also  sometimes  adopted  the  life  of  a 
fakir  and  wandered  about  among  the  people  preaching  the  gospel, 
depending  upon  the  liberality  of  their  hearers  for  food,  drink  and 
clothing. 

Within  a  few  years  strenuous  efforts  have  been  made  by  some  good 
people  to  secure  a  greater  degree  of  self-sacrifice  on  the  part  of  those 
who  labor  for  Christ  in  heathen  lands,  and  especially  in  India.  The 
Eurasian  style  of  living,  or  \\\tvia  media  as  they  call  it,  has  been 
recommended  by  one  class  to  all  foreign  missionaries.  Such  men  as 
Sir  William  Hunter  and  the  Hon.  W.  S.  Caine  have  praised  highly  the 
celibacy  and  the  fancied  austerities  of  the  Oxford  and  Cambridge 
Brotherhoods,  or  have  lauded  to  the  skies  such  fatal  exposure  to  leprosy 
as  was  exhibited    by  Father  Damien.     Salvation   Army  methods  have 


206  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

been  advocated  by  others  and  even  fakirism  has  been  urged,  not  only 
upon  natives,  but  also  upon  European  laborers. 

In  favor  of  the  new  modus  operafidi,  and  especially  fakirism,  the  fol- 
lowing arguments  have  been  adduced  : 

First,  that,  unlike  the  stipend  system,  it  accords  with  the  genius  of 
the  people  of  India  and  is  practiced  everywhere  in  that  country  by 
other  religions.  It  is  said  that  there  are  nearly  three  millions  of  fakirs 
there ;  and  that  one  in  every  ten  of  the  India  people  is  supported  by 
the  other  nine  on  account  of  his  devotion  to  their  faith.  And  "  many 
of  the  fakirs,"  as  the  Lahore  Church  Gazette  said,  "are  so  respected, 
and  others  so  much  dreaded,  that  the  rajah  himself  will  rise  upon  his 
elephant  to  salute  them,  while  the  common  folk  intensely  covet  their 
blessing,  and  fear  nothing  so  much  as  their  curse  and  their  dis- 
pleasure."* 

Again,  it  is  said  to  accord  with  Biblical  teaching,  where  we  are  re- 
quired to  "  endure  hardness  as  good  soldiers  of  Jesus  Christ  "  and  to 
"  be  all  things  to  all  men  ''  that  we  "  might  by  all  means  save  some." 

Biblical,  and  especially  New  Testament,  examples  are  also  cited  to 
support  it — the  Seventy  Disciples,  for  instance,  the  Twelve  Apostles  and 
our  Lord  Himself.  The  Seventy  particularly  are  thought  to  have  been 
a  representative  body,  typical  of  the  Church  and  her  work  in  all  ages ; 
and  as  they  went  out  on  their  mission,  like  fakirs,  without  scrip  or 
purse,  so  should  we. 

Subsequent  Christian  example  is  also  adduced  in  its  favor,  such  as 
that  of  Paul  and  Barnabas  in  the  apostolic  church,  Jerome,  Bernard, 
Boniface  and  the  thousands  who  followed  them  as  Roman  Catholic 
friars  and  monks  in  subsequent  centuries,  the  Waldenses,  the  Lollards 
and  the  early  reformers.  Burns  and  the  China  Inland  missionaries,  the 
Bishop  Taylor  force  in  Africa,  Carey,  Bowen,  Protestant  Brotherhoods 
and  native  Christian  fakirs  in  India — all  of  whom,  with  many  others, 
have  adopted  more  or  less  the  self-sacrificing  methods  which  we  are 
considering,  and  have  been  ready  to  "spend  and  be  spent  "  in  Christ's 
service.      Moody  himself  has  been  called  a  fakir. 

Again,  this  method,  even  in  its  milder  phases,  is  said  to  be  more 
economical  than  the  prevailing  policy,  while  under  every  form  it  pro- 
vides sufficient  support  for  Christian  laborers.  The  Eurasian  has 
fewer  wants  than  the  Anglo-Indian,  the  native  than  the  Eurasian,  and 
the  fakir  than  the  ordinary  Hindu.  If  a  wanderer,  he  does  not  require 
f'  Indian  Evangelical  Review,  Vol.  XI,  p.  283. 


FAKIR  ISM  IN  MISSIONS  ADVOCATED  207 

a  house  or  house  furniture.  If  unmarried,  he  has  no  family  to  care  for. 
The  demand  upon  Mission  Boards  for  funds  is  thus  greatly  lessened, 
or  stopped  altogether.  A  willing  people  feed  and  clothe  the  sacred 
messenger.     The  Lord  provides  for  His  own. 

Further,  the  policy  advocated  would,  it  is  thought,  secure  more  and 
better  laborers.  As  less  money  would  be  required  for  workers  already 
in  the  field,  a  surplus  would  be  left  in  the  mission  treasuries  at  home 
and  this  could  be  used  in  getting  other  laborers.  And  a  similar  ex- 
pansion of  force  would  be  gained  among  natives  in  the  field  also,  where 
missionaries  take  the  lead  in  self-denial.  Moreover  the  ministry  se- 
cured by  such  a  call  would,  they  say,  be  more  humble,  loving,  earnest 
and  devoted  than  officers  of  the  present  missionary  army,  foreign  and 
native,  are.     A  sifting  test  would  operate  from  the  very  beginning. 

Moreover,  the  effect  of  the  work  on  the  spirit  of  those  performing  it 
would,  it  is  said,  be  better  than  under  the  present  policy.  As  wants 
would  be  diminished,  so  would  cares  also.  Anxiety  about  food  and 
clothing,  and  the  support  of  new  converts  or  native  workers,  and  the 
worthiness  of  applicants  for  baptism,  would  be  reduced  to  the  smallest 
possible  limit.  The  money  element  would  be  eliminated  from  many 
missionary  problems.  Laborers  would  learn  to  trust  the  Lord  more 
than  "uncertain  riches."  Their  minds  would  be  set  free  for  full  con- 
secration to  spiritual  duties.  Racial  heartburnings  and  jealousies 
would  also  disappear.  All  would  be  placed  on  a  common  level.  The 
gap  between  foreign  and  native  workers  would  be  bridged  over. 

With  some,  too,  the  newly  advocated  methods  would  give  Christian 
workers  a  better  reputation.  The  charge  that  they  are  mere  hirelings 
would  vanish  away.  They  would  take  their  places  in  the  ranks  of 
honored  ascetics,  and,  like  other  fakirs,  would  be  regarded  as  holy 
men. 

And  more  important  still,  it  is  claimed  that  they  would  be  more 
successful  in  winning  converts  to  Christianity.  Poverty,  say  the  ad- 
vocates of  this  policy,  is  one  of  the  essential  elements  of  spiritual  suc- 
cess. God  loves  to  honor  the  good  soldier  who  endures  hardship 
for  Christ's  sake.  The  hearts  of  men  are  easily  inclined,  not  only 
towards  such  a  worker  himself,  but  also  towards  the  Master  whom  he 
serves.  And  especially  is  this  thought  to  be  the  case  in  India.  Two 
hundred  such  laborers,  it  is  supposed,  would  do  more  than  twice  as 
many  others  to  make  heathenism  tremble. 

And  then  this  policy  would  check  admission  of  unworthy  people 


208  LIFE   AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

into  the  church.  None  would  be  drawn  towards  a  profession  of  faith 
by  worldly  motives.  As  even  officers  of  the  church  and  evangelists 
received  little  or  no  stipulated  pay,  much  less  could  pecuniary  rewards 
of  any  kind  be  expected  by  new  converts.  The  final  decision  of  an 
inquiring  soul  would  be  determined  by  other  and  better  considera- 
tions. 

Some  again  contend  for  this  method  because  it  is  the  only  one  which 
can  become  a  permanent  fixture  in  the  Eastern  church.  The  stipend- 
iary system,  they  say,  being  of  Western  origin,  is  an  exotic  and  must 
necessarily  die  when  the  hot-house  of  Western  influences  is  removed. 

Some  again  contend  for  this  policy  for  the  very  opposite  reason — 
namely,  that  it  is  temporary  in  its  character,  intended  only  to  meet  a 
great  emergency  and  provided  simply  to  advance  as  fast  as  possible  the 
present  work  of  Christianizing  India.  They  admit  that  it  cannot  and 
ought  not  to  be  made  a  permanent  characteristic  of  the  fully  developed 
church.  But  the  need  of  laborers  now,  they  say,  is  too  great,  and  the 
urgency  of  the  hour  too  imperative,  to  wait  on  the  slower  methods  of 
of  highly  organized  evangelism. 

Finally,  it  is  urged  that  this  method  will  have  a  good  reflex  influence 
on  the  home  churches,  making  them  more  liberal  and  devoted  to  the 
cause  of  niissions.  Men  would  give  more  bountifully  knowing  that 
their  funds  are  not  wasted,  and  their  hearts  would  be  drawn  mor. 
powerfully  towards  laborers  who  were  in  such  a  marked  degree  bearing 
the  heat  and  burden  of  the  day. 

Our  own  Mission,  however,  like  most  others,  refuses  to  encourage  a 
new  departure  in  the  direction  indicated  and  clings  tenaciously  to  its 
old  and  established  method.  While  glad  to  see  Clirist  preached  by  all 
classes  and  in  all  ways,  it  does  not  wish  formally  to  incorporate  fakir- 
ism,  or  any  of  its  partial  imitations  into  its  settled  policy,  but  rather  to 
check  its  spread.     And  with  good  reason,  too,  the  writer  thinks  : 

For  first,  the  new  method  accords  not  so  nuich  with  the  genius  of 
Oriental  people  as  with  the  genius  of  their  religions — religions  which 
we  know  to  be  false.  The  root  idea  of  fakirism  is  self-atonement, 
legality,  dependence  upon  austere  rites  for  salvation.  By  abstinence 
from  marriage,  wealth  and  ordinary  comforts,  the  devotee  is  supposed 
to  acquire  merit  for  himself.  He  becomes  a  "holy"  man;  he  is 
thought  to  have  communication  with  the  unseen  world.  And  this 
gives  him  power  over  ordinary  people.  He  works  upon  their  super- 
stitions and  fears.     In  other  words  the  whole  foundation  of  his  in- 


FA  KIR  ISM  IN  MISSIONS  ATTACKED 


209 


fluence  is  wrong.  It  is  not  desirable  for  us  to  become  identified  even 
in  appearance  with  such  theories. 

Again,  Christians  can  never  hope  to  rival  successfully  Hindu  or 
Muhammadan  fakirs.  The  depth  of  poverty,  wretchedness,  filth  and 
suffering  to  which  some  of  the  latter  descend  cannot  be  voluntarily 
reached  by  those  who  believe  in  Christ.  True  Christianity  has  an 
elevating  rather  than  a  degrading  tendency.  The  devotees  of  false 
faiths  will  always  surpass  Christians  in  asceticism,  and  in  conflicts  on 
this  line  will  always  be  victorious.      Contention  with  them  is  futile. 

This  arises  from  the  fact  that  fakirism,  in  its  essence,  is  contrary  to 


HINDU   BARBER. 


the  spirit  and  the  teachings  of  the  New  Testament ;  and  the  fact  that  it  is 
so  furnishes  another  reason  why  we  should  avoid  it.  The  basis  of  sal- 
vation, as  offered  in  the  gospel,  is  not  self-inflicted  torture,  but  Christ's 
righteousness.  Holiness  is  to  be  sought,  not  through  ''bodily  exer- 
cises," but  through  faith,  love  and  new  obedience — through  the  pres- 
ence and  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Hence  there  is  no  necessary 
antagonism  between  genuine  religion  and  the  comforts  of  this  world. 
True,  it  generally  comes  first  to  the  poor,  but  it  does  not  tend  to  keep 
them  poor.  Godliness  is  even  said  to  be  profitable  for  "  the  life  that  now 
is,"  as  well  as  for  "  that  which  is  to  come."  Hence  superior  excel- 
14 


210  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

lence  is  not  attributed  to  celibacy,  bodily  mortification,  or  the  vow  of 
poverty.  Marriage  is  declared  to  be  "  honorable  in  all."  The  bishop 
himself"  must  be  the  husband  of  one  wife." 

Nor  are  the  Biblical  examples  given  favorable  to  the  adoption  of 
fakirism  as  a  mode  of  evangelistic  effort.  Paul  was  by  no  means  a 
fakir.  He  supported  himself  by  his  own  labor  and  positively  refused 
to  take  gifts  from  those  among  whom  he  preached.  If  he  accepted 
help  from  any  one  it  was  from  distant  believers.  Nor  was  Jesus  an 
ascetic.  He  "came  eating  and  drinking" — not  in  the  style  of  the 
Essenes,  or  even  John  the  Baptist.  His  support,  too,  was  obtained 
chiefly  from  loving  companions,  who  ministered  to  him  of  their  sub- 
stance. And  as  for  the  rules  given  The  Seventy,  whose  mission  was 
temporary,  we  can  hardly  adopt  the  view  that  they  were  intended  to 
apply  literally  to  all  subsequent  missionaries  and  Christian  laborers, 
since  they  were  so  soon  discarded  even  by  tiie  great  apostle  of  the 
Gentiles  himself. 

Fakirism,  too,  is  non-Protestant  in  its  character — that  is,  contrary 
to  the  general  spirit,  teachings  and  practice  of  Protestant  Christians, 
although  exceptional  cases  may  be  cited. 

And  while  in  early  ages  it  was  adopted  by  Roman  Catholics,  and 
even  now  is  made  an  important  part  of  their  working  system,  history 
shows  that  it  came  to  them  from  a  heathen  source.  The  Oriental  belief 
that  matter  is  essentially  evil  was  its  parent,  and  the  non-Christian  idea 
that  penance  is  meritorious  has  ever  given  it  continued  life  and  vigor. 

Nor  can  we  find  any  encouragement  in  the  history  of  monasticism 
for  its  adoption  by  Protestants  of  the  present  day.  "  For  tlie  simple, 
divine  way  of  salvation,"  says  Dr.  Schaff,  "monasticism  substituted 
an  arbitrary,  eccentric,  ostentatious  and  pretentious  sanctity.  It  dark- 
ened the  all-sufficient  mei  its  of  Christ  by  the  glitter  of  the  over-meri- 
torious work  of  man.  It  measured  virtue  by  the  quantity  of  outward 
exercises,  instead  of  the  quality  of  the  inward  disposition,  and  dissem- 
inated self-rigliteousness  and  an  anxious,  legal  and  mechanical  religion. 
It  favored  the  idolatrous  veneration  of  Mary  and  the  saints,  the  wor- 
ship of  images  and  relics,  and  all  sorts  of  superstition  and  pious 
frauds.  It  lowered  the  standard  of  general  morality  in  proportion  as  it 
set  itself  above  it  and  claimed  a  corresponding  higher  merit;  and  it 
exerted  in  general  a  demoralizing  influence  upon  the  people."  * 

And  besides  this,  almost  everything  that  is  good  in  the  policy  pro- 
♦SchafF's  "History  of  the  Christian  Church,"  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  177,  178. 


_^;g 


(211) 


212  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

pounded  has  already  been  incorporated  into  our  present  system.  If, 
as  is  supposed,  a  large  amount  of  voluntary  help  would  thus  be  secured 
in  propagating  the  gospel,  it  may  be  replied  that  such  help  is  had  now. 
We  have  just  seen  how  much  the  unpaid  common  people  have  to  do  in 
making  converts  among  their  neighbors.  And  many  honorary — that  is, 
self-supporting — missionaries,  too,  are  operating  in  various  parts  of 
India.*  Such  devices  also  as  are  employed  by  the  Salvation  Army  to 
obtain  audiences  are  not  unknown  in  well-established  Missions.  A 
member  of  the  London  Missionary  Society  says,  "We  carry  a  flag,  use 
a  fiddle  and  give  short  sparkling  addresses  in  the  bazars."  And  as  for 
unmarried  workers,  especially  women,  they  have  for  over  forty  years 
formed  a  part  of  our  regular  forces  in  the  field.  True,  we  do  not  en- 
courage a  wandering,  beggarly  life,  nor  do  we  extort  vows  of  celibacy 
from  single  ladies,  nor  consider  that  they  have  forsaken  their  calling 
when  they  marry  missionaries,  or  that  they  have  forsaken  the  path  of 
duty  when  they  marry  Christians  in  any  sphere  of  life.  In  other  words 
we  have  adopted  the  excellencies,  but  not  the  evils,  of  monasticism. 

And  we  think  at  any  rate  that  missionaries,  both  married  and  un- 
married, already  make  as  many  sacrifices  as  they  ought  to  be  expected 
to  make.  Some  of  the  trials  through  which  they  pass  are  greater  than 
those  which  befall  Romanist  friars  or  even  Hindu  fakirs — greater  partly 
because  of  the  character  of  their  previous  life  and  training.  And  what 
a  contrast  now  exists  between  the  comforts  of  the  average  minister  at 
home  and  those  of  the  average  laborer  in  heathen  lands  !  Wliy  then 
should  the  latter  be  required  to  descend  to  a  still  lower  plane  of  com- 
parative hardslii[)? 

Besides  would  it  not  be  wronging  his  children  to  require  him  to 
adopt  even  the  Eurasian  mode  of  living?  Eurasians  and  "poor 
whites"  cannot  give  their  little  ones  that  training,  or' that  cliance  in 
life,  which  belong  to  the  average  European  or  American.  Mission- 
aries reduced  to  their  circumstances  could  not  send  their  families  to 
the  hills  for  the  sake  of  health,  nor  could  they  keep  them  in  the  United 
States  to  get  a  good  education.  Their  offspring  would  be  condemned 
to  a  lower  status  in  every  respect  than  that  which  the  parents  enjoy. 
The  health,  the  intelligence,  the  morals,  the  religion,  and  the  worldly 
yjrospects  of  the  children  would  probably  all  suff"er  as  the  result. 

*  It  is  said  that  fifty  missionaries  of  the  C.  M.  S.,  working  in  various  parts  of  the 
world,  draw  no  salary  from  the  Society,  and  sixty  of  the  China  Inland  Missionaries 
support  themselves  by  their  own  means. 


FAKIR  ISM  NOT  AN  IMPROVEMENT  213 

Nor  would  it  be  right  to  ask  native  laborers  to  descend  to  a  lower 
plane  than  that  which  they  now  occupy,  or  to  make  sacrifices  which, 
comparatively  speaking,  are  greater  than  those  which  we  make.  When 
urged  to  do  so  they  reply  in  the  language  of  Bubu  Ram  Chandra  Bose,* 
"The  master  must  lead,  not  only  exhort,  and  if  the  few  missionaries 
who  stand  up  for  asceticism  cannot  encourage  it  by  example,  as  well  as 
by  precept,  the  less  they  talk  of  it  the  better." 

The  contention,  too,  that  this  new  policy  would  be  likely  to  secure 
more  or  better  laborers  does  not  seem  to  rest  on  a  very  good  founda- 
tion. At  least  it  is  probable  that  if  adopted  there  would  be  a  deterio- 
ration in  the  intelligence  and  the  mental  training  of  those  who  would 
present  themselves  for  Christian  service.  And  as  for  the  spirit  of  de- 
votion, it  is  not  probable  that  the  worldly  advantages  now  offered  have 
much  influence  in  drawing  any  one  towards  the  foreign  field  ;  and, 
though  the  wages  offered  a  native  may  have  something  to  do  with  his 
willingness  to  enter  mission  employ,  it  is  hard  to  see  how  the  diminu- 
tion of  the  salary  given,  or  its  entire  abolition,  would  secure  other  oi 
more  faithful  men.  Certainly  the  number  of  native  workers  would  not 
be  increased  thereby,  any  more  than  the  abolition  of  a  missionary's 
salary  would  increase  the  number  of  foreign  workers. 

Nor  is  a  more  ascetic  mode  of  living  likely  to  augment  the  happiness 
or  improve  the  character  of  those  who  adopt  it,  but  rather  the  con- 
trary. If  married,  their  expenses  and  parental  anxieties  would  be 
greater.  'I'hey  would  always  be  struggling  to  make  ends  meet.  They 
would  perhaps  become  miserly  and  set  a  bad  example  of  liberality  be- 
fore the  natives.  If  regular  fakirs,  they  would  have  no  settled  home, 
no  secret  closet  for  devotion,  no  opportunity  for  study  or  self-improve- 
ment, and  little  chance  of  profitable  association  with  godly  men.  The 
props  to  virtue  which  marriage,  society,  church  organization  and 
previous  reputation  furnish  would  be  largely  wanting.  They  would  be 
l)eculiarly  exposed  to  temptation.  A  wandering  life  naturally  tends  to 
the  decay  of  spirituality  and  the  loss  of  moral  character.  Great  grace 
would  be  necessary  to  prevent  a  downward  course. 

Nor  would  it  be  likely  to  enhance  the  reputation  of  a  preacher. 
The  hope  of  his  being  considered  a  kindhearted,  generous  ''nourisher 
of  the  poor  "  would  have  to  be  abandoned.  It  would  be  hard  for  him 
to  avoid  even  the  charge  of  niggardliness.  Sufficient  support,  more- 
over, when  drawn  from  the  common  treasury  of  a  Brotherhood,  would 
*In  "  Hindu  Heterodoxy,"  p.  1S7. 


214 


LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 


invalidate  his  claims  to  voluntary  poverty,  or  peculiar  self-denial. 
The  adoption  of  native  costume,  too,  strikes  the  people  as  a  kind  of 
deception — a  pretension  to  be  what  one  is  not — such  apparent  decep- 
tion as  deeply  distressed  the  Rev.  W.  C.  Burns  and  led  him  to  wish 
that  he  had  never  abandoned  European  clothing.*  Nor  is  the  reputa- 
tion of  heathen  fakirs  so  holy  in  the  Bible  sense  of  the  word,  as  to  in- 
crease that  of  Christians  who  follow  their  mode  of  life,  but  rather  the 


HINDU    WASHEKMEiN. 


reverse.  The  fact  of  celibacy,  indeed,  is  a  presumption  against  chas- 
tity in  India,  and  many  fakirs  are  actually  known  to  be  depraved,  im- 
moral men.  Even  in  the  bazar  a  Christian  fakir  would  be  regarded 
with  less  favor  than  a  resident  laborer,  while  regularly  organized 
churches  would  look  upon  him  with  suspicion  if  he  came  without 
proper  credentials. 

Not  likely,  therefore,  is  it  that  the  proposed  new  policy  would  be 

*  "  Memoir  of  the  Rev.  William  C.  Burns,"  p.  590. 


FAKIR  ISM  NOT  MOKE   SUCCESSFUL    IN  PRACTICE  215 

more  successful  in  winning  souls  to  Christ  than  that  which  has  been 
generally  adopted  by  Protestant  Missions.  And  in  accordance  with 
this  judgment  is  its  history,  so  far  as  it  has  been  brought  into  prac- 
tice. Roman  Catholics,  after  the  labor  and  growth  of  400  years, 
number  only  about  1,350,000  converts  in  India,  while  in  less  than 
half  that  time,  Protestant  converts  have  reached  a  total  of  600,000 
or  700,000.  During  the  five  years  between  1880  and  1885  Roman 
Catholics  increased  (so  said)  three  and  one-half  per  cent,  annually ; 
Protestants  nine  per  cent,  per  annum.  In  1889  the  following  was 
written,  "  Nine  men  have  joined  the  Oxford  Brotherhood  in  Calcutta 
during  the  nine  years  of  its  history,  but  only  three  of  these  remain 
to-day.  Eight  converts  are  said  to  have  been  made  from  Hinduism 
during  this  period  and  three  of  these  have  gone  over  to  Rome." 
Even  the  Superior  became  a  pervert  to  the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 
Another  writer  says,  "  Mr.  Bovven  lived  for  many  years  on  a  pittance 
in  the  native  quarters  of  Bombay.  As  a  devoted  missionary  he  has 
never  been  surpassed ;  but  it  is  a  striking  fact  that  he  did  not  succeed 
in  making  converts.  Father  O'Neil,  in  another  part  of  India,  sub- 
mitted himself  with  heroism  to  self-denial  and  hardships  such  as  few 
Europeans  would  be  physically  equal  to,  but  he  scarcely  baptized  a 
single  person."  And  similar  to  this  is  the  testimony  of  the  Rev.  J.  N. 
Forman  in  regard  to  his  own  experience  while  trying  to  live  among 
the  people  as  one  of  them.  He  says,*  "  It  soon  became  clear  that  my 
motives  were  not  appreciated.  I  was  looked  on  as  a  low  specimen  of 
an  Englishman,  'poor  white  trash.'  I  would  not  have  objected  to 
this,  had  it  in  any  way  put  me  in  a  position  to  do  more  good.  But 
my  influence  was  very  perceptibly  decreased.  I  seemed  to  get  no 
hold  on  the  people,  high  or  low.  I  was  hated  by  some,  despised  by 
others,  disregarded  utterly  by  more,  and  made  the  sport  of  small  boys. 
At  one  point  in  the  city,  the  children  changed  from  hooting  at  me  to 
horribly  blaspheming  Christ."  Nor  is  the  success  of  the  Salvation 
Army  so  phenomenal  as  to  offset  such  testimony  and  justify  a  different 
conclusion.     As  Sir  Chas.   Elliot  says,    "The  mere  reduction  of  the 

missionary's  income would  only  condemn  him  to  a  life  of 

squalid  poverty,  which  would  undermine  his  constitution  without  in 

*  Makhsan-i-Masihi  of  April  15,  1890.  Compare  with  this  also  Dr.  Morrison's 
experience  in  China.  See  Dr.  Stoughtoa's  "  Religion  in  England — iSoo  to  1850," 
Vol.  I,  p.  254. 


216  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

any  way  increasing  his  usefulness  or  making  him  veneraDle  in  the  eyes 
of  the  people." 

Especially  would  asceticism  in  its  extreme  forms  destroy  the  in- 
fluence and  the  example  of  a  home.  "  There  are  many  important  ad- 
vantages," says  the  Methodist  Times,  "  in  the  existence  of  one  happy 
Christian  home  in  a  purely  heathen,  Indian  town.  It  is  an  object  les- 
son of  Christianity  which  has  more  weight  than  hundreds  of  sermons. 
Many  educated  Hindus  to-day  watch,  with  a  scarcely-to-be-regretted 
envy,  the  fellowship  and  sympathy  which  unite  the  English  missionary 
and  his  wife.  The  missionary  home  is  a  powerful  influence  for  the 
amelioration  of  the  lot  of  Indian  women  and  the  regeneration  of  Indian 
society.  On  the  lines  of  the  Salvation  Army  this  phase  of  missionary 
influence  vanishes." 

Again,  the  methods  of  the  ascetic  school  involve  a  great  expenditure 
of  life  and  health.  That  the  irregular  habits  of  a  fakir  tend  to  under- 
mine his  constitution  and  shorten  his  career,  even  if  he  be  a  native, 
needs  no  great  amount  of  proof.  And  especially  is  this  the  case  with 
Europeans  and  Americans.  Look  at  the  early  history  of  the  Salvation 
Army — required,  as  itsofiicers  were,  to  live  like  the  natives  and  subsist  on 
a  mere  pittance.  What  a  record  of  sickness,  starvation,  breakdowns  and 
deaths — with  all  the  loss  of  time  and  energy  and  working  power 
which  such  a  system  involved!  No  wonder  it  was  called  "simply 
murder  in  the  plains  of  India,"  a  "  method  of  dying  rather  than  a 
style  of  living,"  a  "reckless  waste  of  human  lives  and  human  zeal 
and  energy  !  "  No  wonder  that  even  the  Army  itself  was  compelled 
to  change  its  policy  in  some  measure,  abandon  vegetarianism  and  al- 
low the  use  of  sandals  and  sun  hats  !  Half  its  forces  were  swept  away 
before  a  language  could  be  learned  or  an  enemy  reached.  And  similar 
remarks  might  be  made  about  unnecessary  exposure  to  leprosy  and 
smallpox  in  the  discharge  of  missionary  duties.  The  vow  of  a  mis- 
sionary does  not  require  him  thus  to  destroy  his  working  ability  and 
diminish  the  length  of  his  ministerial  course,  but  rather  the  contrary. 
He  is  bound  to  make  the  most  of  himself  in  the  sphere  to  which  the 
Lord  has  called  him. 

Besides,  such  a  system  in  its  extreme  forms  would  hinder  very  much 
the  development  of  liberality  both  in  the  native  church  and  in  the 
church  at  home.  How  can  native  Christians  be  taught  to  lay  by  in 
store  on  the  first  day  of  the  week  as  the  Lord  has  prospered  them  if 
the  stipendiary  system,  as  it  is  called,   is  to  be  abolished — if  their 


FAKIRISM  A  HINDRANCE  AND  A  DAMAGE   TO  MISSIONS    217 

ministry  is  to  be  sustained  by  alms,  or  haphazard  instrumentalities? 
And  must  the  Church  in  Christian  lands  be  deprived  to  any  extent  of 
the  spiritual  benefit  and  the  great  joy  which  arises  from  the  exercise 
of  a  grace  that  God  has  heretofore  so  largely  blessed  ? 

While  then,  we  should  welcome  help  from  any  source  or  class  of 
people  that  promises  usefulness,  even  from  a  Christian  fakir,  and  while 
it  is  doubtless  true  that  missionaries  and  upper-class  native  preachers 
are  too  much  inclined  to  stand  aloof  from  those  who  are  socially  be- 
neath them,  and  would  have  more  power  for  good  if,  through  the 
cultivation  of  a  Christ-like  spirit,  they  could  condescend  more  fully 
to  men  of  low  estate,  we  cannot  but  think  that  the  adoption  of  ascetic 
methods  as  a  common  policy  would  be  a  hindrance  rather  than  a  help 
to  our  evangelistic  work. 


CHAPTER  XX 


OBSTRUCTION  AND  PERSECUTION 

Physical  Ilindiances — Hindrances  from  the  Government — From  European  Resi- 
dents— From  Neighboring  Missions  and  Missionaries — From  Lack  of  Funds — 
From  Imperfection  of  Laborers — P>om  Different  Views  of  Mission  Policy — 
From  False  Religions — From  Casle — Opposition  to  Our  Getting  Locations  for 
Work — To  Our  Prosecution  of  Labor — To  the  Hearing  of  the  Gospel — To  Re- 
ligious Inquiry — To  the  Belief  of  the  Trutli — To  Baptism  and  a  Public  Profes- 
sion— Persecution  of  Low-Caste  Converts  by  High- Caste  People  and  by  Low- 
Caste  Neighbors — Continued  Persecution  of  Christians  After  their  Baptism — 
Little  Persecution  unto  Death — Caste  Giving  Way  Somewhat. 

F  the  providential  hindrances  to'  our  evangelistic  work 
which  are  essentially  physical  in  their  character — such  as 
climate,  sickness  and  bad  roads — it  is  unnecessary  to  speak 
particularly  here,  as  they  are  described  at  length  in  other 
places.*  And  the  same  thing  may  also  be  said  of  linguistic  and  edu- 
cational obstructions. f  All  that  need  be  remarked  now  on  the  sub- 
ject is  that  these  obstacles  to  missionary  labors  are  by  no  means  trifling 
and  that,  taken  as  a  whole,  they  prevent  a  large  percentage  of  our 
Cliristian  force  from  being  brouglit  into  successful  use. 

That  hindrance,  as  well  as  help,  comes  from  the  government,  too, 
has  been  noted  elsewhere.;!;  Non-Christian  officers — and  nominally 
Christian  officers,  too, — are  sometimes  unfriendly  and  join  the  ranks 
of  our  persecutors;  §  administrative  measures  are  occasionally  carried 
out  in  such  a  way  as  to  oppress  our  people,  or  hinder  their  religious 
activity;  and  even  laws  have  been  enacted  which  dishonor  the  Chris- 

*See  Chapters  IV,  V,  VIII,  XXIII  and  XXX,   and  pp.  185-189,  etc. 

f  See  Chapter  IX,  and  pp.  86-88,  140,  141. 

X  See  pp.  37-39. 

§  A  striking  instance  of  this   was  given  at  Bombay  during  the  year  1894,  in  the 
unjust  condemnation  and  imprisonment  of  foreign  missionaries   there  for   their  ex- 
posure of  the  evils  of  the  opium  trade. 
(218) 


GODLESS  EUROPEANS  AND    UNFRIENDLY  CRITICISM      219 

tian  name  and  throw  discredit  upon  missionary  efforts.  It  is  hard  for 
the  natives  of  India  to  discriminate  between  the  principles  of  our  re- 
ligion and  that  practical  exhibition  of  Christianity  which  is  given  in 
the  British  Rule.  No  wonder  then  that  regulated  vice,  excise  laws 
and  a  legalized  opium  traffic  occasionally  fill  them  with  disgust  and 
bring  Christian  workers  into  contempt.  No  wonder  the  zenana  on 
this  account  is  now  and  then  closed  to  Bible  readers. 

Similar  obstruction  also  comes  through  the  lives  and  principles  of 
Europeans.  Too  many  Anglo-Indians  are  irreligious,  immoral  and  in- 
fidel. Too  many  anti-Christian  books  of  Western  origin  find  their 
way  to  India  and  are  republished  there.  The  rejection  of  Bible  doc- 
trine, practically  and  theoretically,  by  those  who  are  supposed  to  have 
tested  it  and  to  know  all  about  it,  goes  far  to  counteract  any  influence 
which  missionaries  and  native  Christians  may  exert  in  its  favor.* 

Unfriendly  criticism  by,  neighboring  missionaries  has  also  done 
something  to  diminish  the  power  and  the  success  of  our  evangelistic 
efforts. 

This  criticism  has  referred  chiefly  to  our  work  among  low-caste  peo- 
ple— the  depressed  classes.  Some  objected  to  them  as  proper  persons 
upon  which  to  expend  our  energies,  called  them  "  depraved  poor," 
and  doubted  the  possibility,  or  at  least  the  probability,  of  truly  chang- 
ing their  character.  In  other  words,  they  were  supposed  to  be  too  low 
down  to  be  reached  effectually.  It  is  better,  these  critics  said,  to 
work  among  the  *'  well-born,"  the  higher  castes.  Others  admitted 
that  such  people  might  be  Christianized,  but  claimed  that  it  was  bad 
policy  to  begin  with  them.  They  disliked  the  idea' of  now  flooding 
the  native  church  with  a  great  mass  of  converts  from  the  despised 
classes  and  thus  at  the  very  outset  fixing  its  character  as  a  lower- 
caste  organization.  It  could  never,  they  thought,  have  any  stand- 
ing in  the  community ;  nor  under  such  conditions  could  high-born 
Hindus  and  Muhammadans  be  easily  reached,  if  reached  at  all. 
Better,  they  said,  commence  with  the  natural  "and  historic  leaders  of 
society,  and  work  downward,  rather  than  upward,  among  the  castes. 
Others  objected  to  the  qualifications  for  baptism  which  we  required 
of  these  poor  people.  They  wanted,  besides  a  credible  profession 
of  faith  in  Jesus  as  their  Saviour,  more  intellectual  and  educational 
attainments  exhibited  by  those  who  received  this  ordinance  than  we 
were  disposed  in  all  cases  to  insist  upon.  They  demanded  of  candi- 
*  See  pp.  37,  124,  125. 


220  LIFE  AND    WORK  LV  INDIA 

dates  for  baptism  at  least  the  ability  to  repeat  the  Lord's  Prayer, 
the  Apostles'   Creed  and  the  Ten  Commandments. 

On  most  of  our  laborers  these  criticisms  had  little  effect  except 
perhaps  that  of  a  stimulating  character.  They  felt  that  notwithstand- 
ing such  strictures  our  policy  was  right,  and  hence  pressed  forward 
in  maintaining  it  without  the  least  shadow  of  turning — glad  to  find 
their  course,  so  far  as  its  main  features  are  concerned,  vindicated  at 
last  by  its  general  adoption  throughout  the  Punjab.  In  all  cases, 
however,  this  was  not  the  result  ;  and  it  is  easy  to  see  how  the  first 
two  criticisms  so  far  as  they  were  considered  just,  would  operate  in 
diminishing  the  zeal  and  the  activity  of  our  workers  among  low- 
caste  people.  Neither  a  foreign  nor  a  native  minister,  affected  by 
such  sentiments,  could  labor  with  much  heart  for  tlie  evangelization 
of  Megs  and  Chuhras.  And  as  a  natural  consequence,  too,  his 
harvest  of  converts  from  these  classes  would  be  small.  The  demand 
for  such  intellectual  attainments  on  the  threshold  of  baptism  as 
those  which  have  been  named  would  also  materially  limit  the  number 
of  persons  actually  baptized  and  received  into  the  church. 

Encroachment  by  other  Missions,  moreover,  had  the  same  ultimate 
effect  of  diminishing  additions  to  our  fold.  This  was  due,  partly  to 
the  loss  of  some  of  our  laborers  and  people  and  their  union  with  our 
rivals,  partly  to  the  necessity  for  self-defense  and  the  withdrawal  for 
this  purpose  of  a  detachment  of  our  forces  from  evangelistic  work,  and 
partly  to  that  loss  of  moral  and  spiritual  power  which  is  almost  neces- 
sarily produced  by  a  course  of  conflict. 

The  limitation  of  our  funds  and  of  our  ability  to  hire  laborers  has 
also  had  the  natural  effect  of  limiting  the  amount  of  our  work  and  the 
number  of  conversions  arising  therefrom.  Sometimes  in  the  midst  of 
our  greatest  need  and  finest  prospects  a  curtailment  of  our  estimates  has 
been  made  by  the  home  church  which  operated  disastrously.  During 
the  time  of  our  first  conflict  with  the  Roman  Catholics,  for  instance, 
one  of  our  superintendents  was  on  this  account  compelled  to  dismiss 
seven  helpers  at  once — a  loss  which  was  sorely  felt. 

To  all  these  obstructions  must  be  added  the  imperfection  of  our 
evangelistic  laborers.  That  the  best  have  been  "compassed  w^th 
infirmity"  and  have  failed  to  reach  that  degree  of  usefulness  which 
should  have  been  attained,  is  no  more  than  they  themselves  would 
admit;  while  a  few  have  shown  more  than  ordinary  weakness. 

Some,  too,  have  had  their  time  and  strength  so  largely  absorbed  in 


DOUBTFUL    VIEWS   OF  MISSIONARY  rOLICY  221 

other  necessary  labors  that  it  was  physically  impossible  for  them  to 
take  much  part  in  lengthening  the  cords  of  our  missionary  encampment. 
Indeed,  the  edification  of  baptized  believers  and  their  development  as 
an  organized  church  have  grown  to  be  a  work  of  such  great  propor- 
tions as  to  threaten  very  seriously  the  possibility  of  aggressive  warfare,* 

Some  again  have  entertained  doubtful  views  of  missionary  policy. 
To  several  of  these  views  reference  has  already  been  made  in  speaking 
of  the  criticism  to  wliich  we  have  been  subjected  by  our  neighbors. 
But  there  are  others  also.  For  instance,  some  appear  to  think  that  the 
possession  of  a  bad  motive  by  applicants  for  baptism  must  be  taken  for 
granted  until  the  opposite  is  proved  by  incontestable  evidence,  rather 
than  the  more  charitable  view  that,  while  great  care  should  be  taken 
in  the  baptism  of  professed  converts  (remembering  that  a  credible  pro- 
fession is  one  which  constrains  us  to  believe  in  its  sincerity),  until  a 
bad  motive  becomes  manifest,  the  possession  of  a  good  motive  by  those 
who  profess  their  faith  in  Christ  should  be  assumed  as  a  fact.  And 
again,  some  express  the  conviction  that  they  ought  not  to  baptize  any 
more  applicants  for  baptism  than  they  are  able  afterwards  to  train  prop- 
erly or  care  for — in  other  words,  keep  Christ's  lambs  out  of  the  fold 
until  that  fold  is  enlarged  and  put  in  order,  so  that  every  member  of 
the  flock  can  be  systematically  fed  and  nicely  housed — as  if  these  lambs 
would  not  do  better  in  the  church  than  in  the  world  any  how,  however 
imperfect  the  former  might  be,  or  as  if  the  Lord  would  make  a  mistake 
in  regenerating  people  too  fast  and  would  not,  in  His  providence  and 
by  His  grace,  make  abundant  provision  for  the  spiritual  nourishment 
and  the  highest  welfare  of  all  His  new-born  children. 

And  then  a  few,  perhaps,  temporarily  lost  faith  in  the  spirituality 
and  the  real  efficiency  of  their  own  or  their  brethren's  missionary  labor. 
In  other  words  they  became  discouraged.  This  feeling  led  them  to 
find  fault  and  tear  down  rather  than  build  up.  Instead  of  advancing 
with  the  enthusiasm  which  characterizes  those  who  have  full  confidence 
in  the  work  of  the  Lord  as  done  through  their  instrumentality,  its 
possessors  were  disposed  to  retire  as  far  as  possible  from  active  partici- 
pation in  the  movements  of  the  field. 

Such  defects  of  character,  reputation,  strength,  theory  and  zeal, 
helped,  of  course,  to  lessen  the  amount  of  effective  work  done  by  our 
laborers,  as  well  as  the  number  of  persons  on  the  roll  of  their  professed 
converts. 

*See  pp.  19s,  272  and  273. 


222  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

The  position  taken  by  our  church  in  regard  to  the  baptism  of  polyga- 
mists,  opium-eaters  and  wine-drinkers  should  also  be  mentioned  here, 
because  it  stood  somewhat  in  the  way  of  rapid  progress.  Not  that  we 
had  many  cases  to  deal  with,  for  the  contrary  is  the  fact,  but  that  the 
stand  which  we  took  against  polygamy  and  intemperance  made  our 
church  door  narrower  than  that  of  some  other  missionary  bodies,  and 
kept  away  a  few  applicants  for  baptism  who  might  elsewhere  have  been 
received. 

Among  American  Missions  generally  total  abstinence  is  the  rule  and 
strict  temperance  a  sine  qua  non  of  church  membership  ;  but  the  same 
cannot  be  said  of  all  Missions  from  other  parts  of  the  Christian  world. 
A  stream  in  foreign  lands  cannot  be  expected  to  rise  any  higher  than 
the  source  at  home  from  which  it  flows. 

As  for  polygamous  marriages,  no  missionary  in  India,  I  suppose,  would 
tolerate  them  for  a  single  moment  in  the  case  of  those  who,  previous 
to  their  assumption,  had  been  members  of  the  church.  Diverse  views, 
however,  are  held  regarding  the  baptism  of  polygamists  when  this 
improper  relation  has  been  entered  into  before  conversion.  Some 
would  baptize  them  if  they  otherwise  made  a  credible  profession 
of  their  faith  in  Christ,  and  still  allow  them  to  continue  in  a  state 
of  polygamy  until  a  change  has  been  effected  by  death,  but  at  the 
same  time  exclude  them  from  tlie  Lord's  Supper.  Some  would  bap- 
tize them  and  admit  them  to  full  communion,  but  consider  them 
ineligible  to  official  position  in  the  church,  basing  their  views  partly 
on  the  fear  (certainty,  they  affirm)  that  divorced,  unmarried  women 
will  enter  upon  an  immoral  life,  and  partly  on  their  interpretation  of 
I  Tim.  3  :  2,  which  requires  the  bishop  but  not  a  private  member 
(they  say)  to  be  the  husband  of  only  one  wife.  Some  would  require 
a  polygamist  to  divorce  all  his  wives  except  one  before  receiving 
the  ordinance  of  baptism — giving  him,  however,  the  privilege  of 
choosing  from  among  them  which  one  he  will  retain.  Others,  with 
whom  the  writer  agrees,  would  require  him  to  divorce  all  his  wives 
except  the  first,  who  alone  in  God's  eyes  is  his  properly  wedded  com- 
panion, but  expect  him  still  to  support  those  who  are  discarded. 

The  subject  having  been  brought  to  the  attention  of  our  General  As- 
sembly in  1880,  action  was  taken  by  that  body  forbidding  the  reception 
of  polygamists  into  the  church  ;  and  in  accordance  with  this  decision 
we  are  required  to  act.  Hence,  although  a  difference  of  opinion  in 
regard  to  the  matter  is  still  entertained  by  brethren   in  the  field,  our 


HINDRANCES  FROM  PRE-M/LLENARIAA^/SM  223 

practical  course  in  reference  to  it  has  helped  to  lessen  the  increase  of 
our  church  membership;  but  not  very  much. 

And  what  about  pre-millenarianism  ?  How  "has  the  adoption  of  this 
doctrine  affected  your  laborers  ?  Has  it  made  them  more,  or  less, 
active — more,  or  less,  successful?  "It  must  be  admitted,"  says  one, 
"  that,  as  a  general  rule,  faith  is  the  measure  of  success  in  religious  work, 
as  it  is  also  in  religious  life.  It  must  also  be  admitted  that  pre-mil- 
lennial  views  of  Christ's  coming,  as  generally  held,  are  unfavorable  to 
strong  faith  in  the  present  success  of  the  gospel.  The  man  who  be- 
lieves that  the  church  is  becoming  worse  and  worse  and  will  soon  be 
involved  in  complete  ruin,  who  has  no  confidence  in  the  means  of  grace 
as  now  administered  for  the  extensive  conversion  of  our  fallen  race, 
who  preaches  the  word  merely,  or  chiefly,  from  a  sense  of  duty,  who 
considers  himself  simply  a  '  witness  '  testifying  to  a  lost  and  ruined 
world,  who  looks  to  the  personal  reign  of  Christ  as  that  which  alone 
can  cure  existing  evils  and  bring  men  to  obey  him,  cannot  as  a  rule 
preach  the  truth  with  much  expectation  that  it  will  be  accepted  by 
large  numbers  of  men."  What  now,  our  friends  inquire,  is  the  practi- 
cal result  in  your  own  field  ? 

Fortunately,  or  unfortunately,  we  can  give  no  reply  whatever  to  this 
question — for  the  simple  reason  that  none  of  our  foreign  or  native 
laborers,  as  far  as  known,  have  adopted  the  view  mentioned.  All  are 
either  opposed  to  it  or  are  inclined  to  leave  it  as  an  unsettled  point. 
In  some  neighboring  Missions,  indeed,  pre-millennialists  hold  a  promi- 
nent place  and  seem  to  be  earnest  workers  ;  but  regarding  even  their 
success  the  writer  can  make  no  statements  which  would  either  confirm 
or  disprove  any  theory  on  the  subject. 

I  am  happy  to  say,  however,  that  among  ourselves  no  one  has  yet 
arisen  who  believes  in  the  future  probation  of  those  who  die  impenitent 
— a  doctrine,  which  in  the  opinion  of  most  evangelical  workers  is 
almost  certain  to  cut  the  sinews  of  missionary  effort  both  at  home  and 
abroad.  Our  hindrances  of  theory  and  policy  have  not  been  so  serious 
as  this — although  they  have  been  real  notwithstanding. 

But  the  greatest  hindrance  to  our  evangelistic  efforts  has  come,  as 
might  be  supposed,  from  false  religions — from  the  pronounced  enemies 
of  our  faith. 

And  the  characteristic  presented  by  them  which  has  been  found 
most  obstructive  in  its  nature  is  no  doubt  caste.  Caste  rs  that  system 
by  which  Hindus  are  divided  into  various  hereditary  classes  and  made 


224  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

subject  to  various  regulations  and  customs,  called  caste  rules.  Origin- 
ally this  division  accorded  somewhat  with  differences  of  race,  occu- 
pation, and  political,  social  or  religious  relationship;  and  these  differ- 
ences are  still  largely  perpetuated.  But  the  sacred  books  of  the  Hin- 
dus also  teach  that  this  division  is  based  upon  a  difference  of  creation 
and  divine  appointment — in  other  words,  that  the  various  castes  are 
separate  species,  or  orders,  of  the  human  race,  just  as  elephants,  dogs 
and  cats  are  different  species  of  animals.  Caste  rules  relate  chiefly  to 
marriage,  food,  drink,  professional  occupation,  religious  privileges  and 
funeral  rites.  They  are  very  strict  and  precise  in  their  nature,  and  their 
enforcement  forms  perhaps  the  most  permanent  and  distinctive  feature 
of  Hindu  life.  And,  as  the  effect  of  this,  almost  all  other  religions  in 
India  have  also  become  involved  in  the  meshes  of  caste  and  have  be- 
come subject  to  some  of  its  more  important  regulations.* 

The  evils  of  caste  from  an  evangelistic  point  of  view  are  chiefly  two  : 
First,  it  threatens  every  person  inclined  to  become  a  Christian  with 
losses  and  sufferings  of  the  most  grievous  character  ;  and  secondly,  it 
segregates  the  new  convert  and  puts  him  in  a  position  where  he  can 
have  little  or  no  influence  over  his  former  friends.  Even  the  first  of 
these  evils  is  calculated  to  hinder  our  work  very"  much,  because  it  not 
only  deters  many  from  the  initial  step  of  making  honest  inquiry  into 
the  truth  of  the  Christian  religion,  but  also  prevents  people  from  con- 
fessing Christ  unless  they  have  an  extraordinary  amount  of  moral  and 
physical  courage.  But  the  second  evil  is  still  greater,  because  it  cuts 
off  so  effectually  what  might  be  called  the  natural  growth  of  the  good 
work  of  winning  souls.  Not  only  is  the  ordeal  of  social,  civil  and 
religious  ostracism  with  which  the  profession  of  Christ  is  connected,  a 
severe  trial  to  the  individual  convert  himself,  but  (what  is  more  to  be 
regretted)  it  prevents  him  from  securing  the  salvation  of  his  kindred. 
The  leaven  is  at  once  removed  from  the  lump  where  it  was  primarily 
put,  and  hence  can  have  no  effect  on  its  former  surroundings.  The 
production  of  a  second  convert  among  caste  people  is  therefore  just 
about  as  difficult  as  was  that  of  the  first.  This  makes  the  process  of 
evangelization  slow.  Grain  by  grain  the  non-Christian  mass  must  be 
transferred  to  the  granary  of  the  Lord.  There  can  be  little  of  what 
might  be  called  a  chain  movement  or  cluster  conversion. 

How  different  the  result  among  people  of  no  caste,  from  which  class 
we  draw  most  of  our  converts  !  And  how  different  even  among  Hindus 
*  See  Chapter  XII  and  especially  p.  ii6. 


OBSTRUCTIONS    TO    GETTING   A    LOCATION  FOR    WORK    225 


and  Muhammadans  when,  as  occasionally  happens,  the  new  convert  is 
in  such  a  position  as  to  secure  indifference  to  caste  !  As  an  illustration 
take  the  case  of  a  Muhammadan  maulvie,  living  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Pasrur,  who  was  baptized  in  1892  by  the  Rev.  T.  F.  Cummings  and 
mentioned  in  his  report  of  the  work  of  1893.  Of  him  Mr.  Cummings 
says,  "The  faith  of  the  maulvie,  who  was  baptized  two  years  ago,  has 
been  rewarded  by  the  baptism  of  his  wife  and  children.  It  was  his 
wish  at  one  time  to  give  her  the  choice  of  being  turned  out  of  the 
house,  or  becoming  a  Christian,  but  Paul's  counsel  prevailed,  and  the 
happy  result  is  a  Christian  home.  Living  as  they  do,  in  their  home 
village,  their  faith  has  an  excellent  influence  on  their  Hindu  and  Mu- 
hammadan neighbors." 

But,  apart  from  the  hin- 
drances imposed  by  caste,  great 
obstructions  of  a  serious  charac- 
ter have  been  presented  to  the 
spread  of  the  gospel  in  India. 

First,  ministers  and  preachers 
have  been  hindered  both  in 
getting  a  suitable  location  for 
their  work  and  also  in  the  prose- 
cution of  the  work  itself. 

Occasionally  laborers  find  it 
difficult  to  obtain  a  favorable 
position    for    even    an    hour's 

J        >  ^  WOLF. 

service  or  a  day  s  encampment. 
They  are  compelled   to  move 

on  to  another  bazar,  or  another  village.  But  especially  is  it  difficult  for 
them  to  obtain  places  of  residence  and  good  sites  for  permanent  insti- 
tutions— such  as  school  houses,  bookshops,  churches  and  hospitals.* 
High  rents  are  charged  ;  offensive  conditions  are  imposed  ;  titles  are 
beclouded;  the  haqq-i-shtifa*  is  brought  into  use;  sharp  tricks  are 
resorted  to  ;  lawsuits  are  started  ;  water  is  denied  the  preachers  ;  owners 
refuse  to  rent  or  sell  at  all.  And  then,  if  building  becomes  necessary, 
efforts  are  made  to  hinder  its  progress  or  stop  it  altogether,  even  if 
physical  force  has  to  be  resorted  to. 

Only  a  few  instances  can  be  mentioned. 

A  young  Christian,  named  Robert  Bruce,  who  had  for  several  years 

*See  p.  143. 
15 


226  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

owned  a  piece  of  land  in  Sialkot,  undertook  to  erect  a  house  upon 
it  in  the  fall  of  1883.  Muhammadan  neighbors  interfered,  drove 
the  bricklayers  from  their  work,  insulted  Robert  on  the  street,  tried  to 
wrench  his  property  from  him  by  unjust  claims,  assaulted  his  female 
relatives,  tore  jewels  from  his  niece's  ears  and  arms,  thereby  lacerating 
her  flesh,  refused  to  return  the  stolen  property  and  were  only  stopped 
in  their  obstructive  course  by  an  appeal  to  the  Deputy  Commissioner. 

About  the  same  time  the  Christians  of  Sabzkot  undertook  to  put  up 
a  house  for  preaching  and  school  purposes  at  their  own  expense,  and 
when  its  walls  were  nearly  finished  the  zaildar — a  high  officer  of  the 
neighborhood  * — compelled  them  to  desist  from  their  work. 

When  Mr.  (afterwards  Rev.)  Haqq's  labors  at  Dinanagar  were 
meeting  with  great  success  in  1882,  his  neighbors,  becoming  alarmed, 
urged  his  landlord  to  turn  him  out  of  the  house  in  which  he  was  liv- 
ing. Hearing  of  a  building  site  near  by,  he  undertook  to  purchase  it. 
But  Muhammadans  beset  the  seller  at  once,  saying,  "  You  must  not  sell 
to  a  Christian  ;  if  you  do,  he  will  build  a  church,  a  bell  will  ring,  and 
everybody  will  turn  Christian.  Do  not  let  them  have  a  foothold  and 
we  will  buy  your  site."  So  they  collected  money  and  bought  it,  and 
thus  defeated  our  catechist's  intentions.  Subsequently  Sardar  Dingal 
Singh,  a  wealthy  gentleman  of  Lahore  and  a  warm  friend  of  Chris- 
tians, presented  him  with  a  building  lot  in  the  neighborhood.  The 
municipal  authorities,  however,  refused  him  the  usual  permit  to  build 
until  compelled  to  do  so  by  their  superiors.  And  when  the  erection 
of  the  house  was  begun,  two  Hindus  set  up  a  claim  to  the  land, 
stopped  the  work,  and  took  the  case  into  court  before  a  Muhammadan 
judge.  But  prayer  was  offered  up  to  God  by  the  Christians  in  behalf 
of  our  cause,  and  this  judge,  after  much  deliberation,  gave  a  decision 
in  favor  of  the  defendant  before  hundreds  of  angry  opposers.  Appeal, 
however,  was  taken  to  an  English  Magistrate,  w^ho  reversed  the  deci- 
sion of  the  lower  court,  after  which  appeal  was  again  made  by  Aziz  ul 
Haqq  to  the  Commissionei  of  the  Division,  who  at  last  confirmed  him 
in  his  rights. 

When  it  was  found  necessary  in  1889  to  get  more  land  for  the 
Memorial  Hospital,  Sialkot,  a  high  District  officer  suggested  an  effort 
to  secure  the  adjoining  lot  from  the  owner,  Sardar  Jadjodh  Singh,  who 
resided  in  Benares;  and  it  was  thought  that  he  might  give  it  gratis. 

*  The  zailda?-  is  an  executive  officer,  superior  to  the  lambardar,  and  exercising 
authority  over  many  villages — sometimes  thirty  or  forty. 


CONTROVERSIAL    OPPOSITION,  AND   INDIGNITIES        227 

But  before  our  request  reached  him  we  found  that  he  had  already  given 
it  to  the  Arya  Samaj.  Evidently  an  Aryan,  hearing  of  our  proposed 
efforts,  had  anticipated  us  and  circumvented  our  plans  by  a  previous 
communication,  sent  probably  by  telegraph. 

In  the  prosecution  of  their  labor,  also,  missionaries  and  native 
workers  have  often  had  to  endure  many  indignities  and  great  opposi- 
tion. 

To  the  controversial  disturbances  which  frequently  arise  during  bazar 
preaching,  zenana  work  and  evangelistic  tours  reference  has  already 
been  made  in  various  places.*  Sometimes  these  become  very  annoying; 
sometimes  they  break  up  a  meeting.  Sometimes  controversy  is  con- 
ducted by  our  opponents  in  a  quieter  and  less  offensive,  but  shrewder  and 
more  systematic  manner — so  ably  indeed  as  to  tax  all  the  resources  of  our 
representative.  Miss  C.  E.  Wilson,  for  instance,  met  a  Muhammadan  in 
one  of  her  zenanas,  May  15,  1888,  who  had  read  the  Bible  tlirough,  pos- 
sessed Scott's  commentary  and  a  concordance,  and  seemed  to  be  an  hon- 
est inquirer,  but  was  ready  notwitlistanding  to  bring  forward  many  ob- 
jections to  our  holy  religion,  as  well  as  arguments  to  support  his  own 
faith  ;  and  the  very  impartiality  and  intelligence  which  he  appeared  to 
manifest  only  made  it  all  the  more  difficult  to  deal  with  him  and  to 
neutralize  the  effect  of  his  discourse  upon  others. 

But. opposition  often  takes  a  more  material  and  degraded  form. 

Sometimes  wood,  water  and  fodder  have  been  refused  our  workers 
by  the  local  authorities  of  the  place  where  they  had  encamped. f  Once 
when  some  zenana  workers  were  seated  on  a  charpai  by  the  side  of 
which  was  a  heap  of  straw,  talking  with  a  woman,  who  seemed  much 
interested,  a  boy  perhaps  fifteen  years  old  entered  and  coming  towards 
them  said,  "  Get  off  my  charpai.  Sit  on  that  straw.  Straw  is  good 
enough  for  Christians."  Again,  a  young  lady  wrote,  "In  two  or 
three  of  the  villages  which  we  visited  the  people  were  very  hardened. 
They  would  not  even  give  me  a  place  to  sit  upon  and  would  not  per- 
mit me  to  open  my  Bible ;  and  when  we  got  into  our  conveyance  to 
go  away  they  began  giving  us  abuse'' — a  very  mild  term  for  i\\t  gali, 
or  billingsgate,  which  native  people  generally  disgorge  upon  such  oc- 
casions. At  another  time  a  fakir,  whether  crazy  or  not  is  uncertain, 
seized  a  missionary's  horse  as  she  was  driving  it  on  her  rounds  in  a 
tum-tum,  and  was  only  shaken  off  through  the  agility  and  bravery  of 
her  servant.     On  another  occasion,  when  a  lady  and  her  Bible  woman 

*  See  pp.  157-161,  176,  178.  t  See  pp.  189,  190. 


228  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

were  passing  along  the  streets  of  Bhera,  dust  and  stones  were  thrown 
after  them,  while  a  crowd  of  boys  followed  them  with  rude  drums, 
making  as  much  noise  as  they  could.  During  the  summer  of  1889, 
not  only  was  boisterous  opposition  preaching  kept  up  close  to  one  of 
our  bazar  stations  in  Sialkot,  during  the  hour  of  our  services,  but  in 
the  early  part  of  July  hostility  became  so  fierce  that  brickbats  were 
thrown  at  our  laborers  and  their  turbans  pulled  off  their  heads,  and 
notice  had  to  be  sent  to  the  Deputy  Commissioner. 

Hindrances  to  the  hearing  of  the  gospel  are  also  as  common  as  op- 
position to  its  proclamation. 

Sometimes  these  are  of  a  trifling  character  but  nevertheless  effective. 

The  entrance  of  a  sahib — a  male  missionary — has  been  known  to 
drive  a  whole  roomful  of  women  from  the  presence  of  their  Chris- 
tian instructor.  Hindus  have  sometimes  kept  their  girls  from  a  Chris- 
tian school  because  Muhammadans  were  present,  and  both  these 
classes  have  often  declined  to  patronize  our  schools  because  low-caste 
children  were  admitted,  or  because  enough  of  distinction  between 
their  children  and  the  others  was  not  made  in  our  school  arrangements. 
It  is  sometimes  hard,  also,  to  get  Hindus  and  Muhammadans  to  meet 
together  for  religious  instruction  upon  the  Sabbath,  because  with  them 
this  is  a  weekly  holiday. 

Often,  however,  the  hindrances  have  a  deeper  meaning.  Hatred 
of  the  truth  and  fear  of  our  success  frequently  prompt  people  to  avoid 
the  sound  of  the  gospel,  or  to  hinder  others  from  hearing  it.  A  Ro- 
man Catholic  missionary  has  been  known  to  pass  without  abashment 
into  the  midst  of  one  of  our  audiences  and  quietly  drive  out  all  whom  he 
claimed  to  be  his  own  people.  Husbands  sometimes  treat  their  wives 
in  the  same  manner.  "One  day,"  says  a  zenana  worker,  "  while  we 
were  reading  the  Bible  in  a  water-carrier's  house  to  his  wife,  a  very 
beautiful  woman  who  loved  to  listen,  her  black,  ugly,  pock-pitted, 
one-eyed  husband  came  in  and  asked,  '  What  is  the  use  in  your  read- 
ing to  these  cattle?  ' — that  is,  his  wife  and  other  women.  Finding  that 
we  did  not  mind  him,  he  got  back  into  a  corner  and  beckoned  his 
wife  away,  leaving  us  to  finish  and  depart  without  meeting  her  again." 
"  At  one  place,"  says  Miss  Gordon,  "  we  were  refused  a  hearing  alto- 
gether, and  at  another  the  people  not  only  would  not  hear,  but  fol- 
lowed us  and  threw  clods  after  us.  However,  a  young  woman  in  the 
crowd  who  had  been  a  pupil  in  the  Girls'  Mission  School  at  Gujran- 
wala,  began  eagerly  to  rehearse  portions  of  the  Bible  and  we  became 


OBSTRUCTIONS    TO   INQUIRY  AND    CONVERSION  229 

much  interested  in  her;  but  a  man  appeared  and  rudely  drove  her 
away."  Amir  Bibi's  baptism  in  1886  was  the  cause  of  the  closing,  to 
zenana  laborers,  of  all  Muhammadan  houses  in  Gujranwala  near  where 
she  lived,  except  two.  Fear  was  entertained  that  other  converts 
might  be  made.  And  a  similar  fear  seems  to  have  prompted  the  great 
Hindu  revolt  against  mission  work  among  women  in  Jhelum  during 
the  spring  of  1884,  when  the  native  authorities  of  the  place  were 
ranged  against  us  and  our  Hindu  Girls'  Schools  were  for  a  time  en- 
tirely closed.  Such  also  was  the  root  of  the  Moslem  opposition  to 
Dr.  Johnson's  dispensary  work  in  the  same  city  six  years  afterward, 
when  applications  for  medicine  greatly  fell  off  and  on  two  days  there 
were  none  at  all.  Although  desirous  of  medical  treatment  and  secular 
instruction  for  their  wives  and  daughters,  tlie  people  of  that  place 
hated  to  receive  these  favors  in  connection  with  Bible  teaching.  They 
dreaded  the  results. 

And  what  is  true  in  ordinary  cases  is  especially  true  in  regard  to 
persons  who  have  become  interested  in  the  Christian  religion  and  have 
attained  the  position  of  religious  inquirers.  Every  effort  is  made  to 
prevent  them  from  advancing  any  further  in  their  search  after  Bible 
truth.  Their  attention  is  turned  to  other  things  ;  they  are  urged 
to  be  faithful  to  the  religion  of  their  fathers  ;  they  are  sent  away 
from  the  neighborhood  where  Christians  labor;  they  are  detained 
from  church  services  by  main  force  ;  their  Christian  literature  is  stolen 
from  them  and  destroyed  ;  they  are  beaten,  imprisoned  at  home,  stu- 
pefied with  poisonous  drugs,  and  even  threatened  with  death  if  they 
do  not  desist  from  what  is  considered  religious  folly.  And,  what  per- 
haps is  worse  than  all,  lies  are  often  told  about  us  and  our  motives, 
and  the  truths  of  the  Christian  religion  are  taught  them  in  a  perverted 
form. 
I  No  doubt,  too,  there  is  a  mighty  internal  struggle  in  the  case  of 
many  converts.  It  is  hard  for  us  to  realize  what  a  great  revolution  of 
thought  and  feeling  must  occur  in  their  hearts.  Philosophies,  super- 
stitions, customs,  caste  rules,  religious  ideals,  social  relations,  long- 
cherished  hopes  and  fears  must  all  undergo  a  radical  change.  A  new 
Bible,  a  new  ministry,  a  new  brotherhood,  a  new  way  of  salvation,  a 
new  theory  of  religious  life,  a  new  creed,  a  new  system  of  morality,  a 
new  mode  of  worship,  a  new  idea  of  birth,  death,  heaven  and  hell,  a 
new  God,  must  take  the  place  of  the  old.  As  Dr.  Dennis  well  says,* 
*In  "Foreign  Missions  after  a  Century,"  p.  189. 


230 


LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 


"  Old  friendships  must  be  broken,  family  glory  must  be  dimmed,  long- 
cherished  pride  humbled,  natural  timidity  must  be  conquered,  social 
inertia  must  be  overcome,  irresolution  must  be  cast  aside,  hereditary 
indisposition  to  change  must  be  banished,  personal  interest  must  be 
sacrificed,  worldly  loss  must  be  faced,  alliance  with  priestly  power  must 
be  forfeited,  and  a  leap  into  the  unknown  and  untried  experiences  of 
an  absolutely  new  religion  must  be  taken,  and  all  upon  the  basis  of 
what  seems  to  be  comparatively  slender  historical  evidence,  without 
the  familiar  eclat  of  public  approval."  And  to  these  internal  obstruc- 
tions must  also  be  added  the  natural  depravity  of  the  human  heart,  its 
deep-seated  hatred  of  holiness  and  its  aversion  to  everything  else  that 
is  distinctive  in  the  Christian  faith— besides  the  machinations  of  the 

Evil  One,  who  always 
stands  ready  to  do  the 
part  of  a  vigilant  general 
for  all  opposing  forces. 
Surely  the  internal  diffi- 
culties in  the  way  of  the 
conversion  of  a  heathen 
man  are  almost  incal- 
culable. Only  a  miracle 
of  grace  can  change  his 
heart,  revolutionize  his 
intellect,  and  make  him 
a  true  Christian. 

Great  external  ob- 
struction also  meets  him  when  he  is  ready  for  baptism — the  recog- 
nized sign  of  a  Christian  profession.  The  trials  to  which  he  was 
previously  subjected  by  unbelieving  friends  are  now  redoubled.  If 
a  high-caste  school  boy,  he  is  generally  compelled  to  seek  baptism  in 
a  distant  city  where  his  relatives  will  not  be  likely  to  interfere  with 
the  performance  of  this  rite.  If  under  age,  or  alleged  to  be  so,  his 
case  is  probably  taken  by  parents,  or  guardians,  to  a  civil  court  and  an 
order  asked  in  favor  of  their  custody  of  the  boy.  Detention  of  a  child 
less  than  fourteen  years  of  age  is  considered  kidnapping.  At  eighteen, 
however,  he  is  in  all  respects  legally  free  from  his  natural  custodians. 
Cases  of  persons  between  the  ages  of  fourteen  and  eighteen  are  treated 
on  tlieir  merits.  If  such  a  convert  is  able  to  judge  and  act  for  himself, 
he  may  be  legally  baptized  and  need  not  be  restored  to  his  parents,  or 


CASES   OF  PERSECUTION'  231 

guardians.  All  depends  upon  whether  he  acts  freely  and  intelligently 
in  receiving  baptism  and  has  the  ability  to  earn  a  living  for  himself.* 
Should  he  be  restored  to  his  Hindu  or  Muhauimadan  friends,  he  can 
expect  only  the  greatest  indignities.  He  will  be  kept  closely  guarded, 
or  be  transported  to  a  distant  part  of  the  country  where  he  will  be 
helpless ;  and  in  almost  all  cases  he  will  be  subjected  to  personal  vio- 
lence. He  may  be  even  poisoned  and  altogether  put  out  of  the  way. 
If  a  Hindu,  his  head  will  be  shaved  and  he  will  be  compelled  to  par- 
take of  a  mixture  of  cow's  dung  and  urine — a  recognized  means  of 
ceremonial  purification  and  restoration  to  the  religion  of  his  fore- 
fathers. And  in  the  case  of  high-caste  persons  of  any  age,  or  of 
either  sex,  who  succeed  in  running  the  initial  gauntlet  and  entering 
the  Christian  fold,  there  is  the  almost  inevitable  loss  of  property,  par- 
ents, husband  or  wife,  children,  friends  and  everything  else  which 
men  hold  dear.     The  new  convert  must  begin  life  over  again. 

Two  cases  may  be  mentioned — both  Muhammadans  and  both 
women.  One  was  a  beautiful,  m^rxxtd,  pardah-?iaslii>i  (or  veil-wearing) 
lady,  who  gave  every  evidence  of  conversion  at  the  Sialkot  Dispensary 
in  its  early  days.  Strenuous  efforts  were  made  to  prevent  her  baptism. 
When  she  fled  from  home  for  this  purpose  she  was  forcibly  brought 
back  again,  taken  away  to  another  city,  kept  a  prisoner  among 
relatives  and  threatened  with  every  kind  of  injury  if  she  attempted  to 
escape.  And  when  she  did  escape  and  was  enabled  to  join  the  com- 
pany of  Christian  friends,  threats  of  a  suit  for  the  recovery  of  jewels 
which  she  had  taken  with  her  were  made,  marital  claims  were  bran- 
dished over  her  head,  plans  for  waylaying  and  kidnapping  her  were 
laid,  and  (worse  than  all)  the  wily  arts  of  seduction  were  employed  to 
destroy  her  character. 

The  other  case  was  that  of  Gulam  Bibi,  who  was  baptized  by  the 
name  of  Ruth  at  Jhelum,  Nov.  3,  1890.  As  her  friends  disapproved 
of  her  course,  she  did  not  return  to  them  after  baptism,  but  went  to 
live  with  Miss  Given.  Under  the  fiilse  plea  that  her  father  was  sick, 
she  was  induced,  however,  to  go  to  see  him,  and  there  her  relatives 
abused  her  very  much.  Rescued  by  some  Christians,  she  came  back 
again  to  Miss  Given,  but  was  visited  under  various  pretences  at  differ- 
ent times  during  the  subsequent  week  by  her  former  friends.  Finally, 
when  a  chance  occurred  on  one  of  these  occasions,  she  was  forcibly 

*  See  the  decision  given  at  Allahabad  as  tuld  in  an  article  in  the  Indian  Evan- 
gelical Review,  Vol.  XVII,  pp.  56-77. 


232  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

seized  and  carried  off,  but  not  without  a  fierce  struggle  in  which  Mrs. 
Scott,  Miss  Given  and  their  servants  took  the  girl's  part.  Miss  Given 
wrote  at  the  time,  "Mrs.  Scott  received  a  scratch  on  her  arm  from 
which  blood  was  flowing.  1  understood  that  the  old  man  struck  her 
with  his  stick.  He  raised  his  stick  on  me  once,  but  one  of  the  servants 
caught  him.  It  is  said  that  I  was  knocked  down  and  that  the  women 
caught  me  by  the  throat,  but  I  have  no  recollection  of  either.  I  felt 
neither  pain  nor  fright.  All  I  thought  of  was  to  free  the  poor  girl.  I 
know  my  shawl  was  torn  off  me  twice.  I  heard  continually  ringing  in 
my  ears,  'We  will  kill  you,  We  will  kill  you,'  but  I  paid  no  atten- 
tion." But  all  was  of  no  avail.  Poor  Ruth  was  carried  away,  several 
men  holding  her  hands  and  several  her  feet,  while  her  screams  were 
heartrending.  Notice  was  given  to  the  Chief  of  Police,  however,  and 
in  less  than  two  hours  she  was  brought  back  again,  but  not  till  she  had 
endured  much  suffering,  being  bruised  and  sore  all  over.  A  short 
time  afterward,  too,  the  principal  offenders  were  sent  to  jail — some  for 
three  months  each  and  one  for  four  months.  Ruth  afterwards  went  to 
the  Girls'  School  at  Sialkot  and  is  now  the  wife  of  Barkat  Masih  of  the 
Gujranwala  District. 

But  upper-class  people  are  not  the  only  ones  who  suffer  persecution 
at  the  time  of  baptism,  or  in  prospect  of  it.  Low-castes  and  outcastes 
suffer  in  the  same  way. 

Occasionally,  it  is  true,  members  of  the  depressed  classes  are  even 
encouraged  to  become  Christians  by  their  non-Christian  friends  and 
neighbors.  At  Saddowal  in  1883,  the  ala-lambardar,  a  Hindu,  who 
was  at  one  of  our  services,  listened  with  great  attention  to  all  that  was 
said  ;  and  when  the  preacher  (who  was  addressing  especially  candidates 
for  baptism)  made  a  brief  pause  in  his  discourse,  he  took  occasion  to 
break  in  himself  with  an  exhortation  for  them  to  remain  firm  in  the  faith. 

But  such  experiences  are  rare.  As  a  general  thing  both  Hindus  and 
Muhammadans  dislike  the  upward  aspirations  of  these  poor  people. 
The  former  are  afraid  that  their  Christianization  will  threaten  the 
stability  of  the  whole  caste  system.  They  tliink  that  if  the  sills  are 
removed  the  entire  structure  will  tumble  to  the  ground.  The  latter 
would  much  rather  see  the  Chuhras  embracing  Islam ;  while  both 
Hindus  and  Muhammadans,  contemplating  the  elevation  of  low-caste 
people  to  the  rank  of  Christians,  fear  the  loss  of  the  service  of  a  class 
upon  which  they  have  heretofore  depended,  especially  in  the  work  of 
agriculture. 


PERSECUTION  OE  LOW-CASTE  PEOPLE  233 

Hence  statements  like  the  following  have  been  common  in  describ- 
ing our  evangelistic  experience:  "A  number  of  inquirers  were  not 
baptized  for  fear  of  persecution,  as  they  were  threatened  by  their 
enemies,  and  could  not  at  this  time  openly  confess  Christ  ;  "  or  this: 
"Moti'swife  and  children  were  among  the  number  baptized.  The 
wives  of  the  other  men  became  frightened  and  did  not  come  out.  The 
Hindu  and  Muhammadan  villagers  are  very  much  opposed  to  these 
people  becoming  Christians  ;  "  or  again,  "  There  were  a  few  who  ex- 
pected to  be  baptized  this  evening ;  but,  poor  people  !  they  were 
threatened  so  by  the  zamindars  (farmers)  for  whom  they  work  that  they 
felt  that  they  could  not  come  out  now.  The  zamindars  heard  this 
afternoon  that  they  expected  to  be  baptized,  and  told  them  that  if 
they  were  baptized  they  would  not  give  them  any  work  to  do  nor  any- 
thing to  eat.  And,  I  suppose  to  make  them  believe  that  they  would 
do  it,  they  took  some  of  their  grain  from  them.  It  would  seem  to 
them  very  much  like  facing  starvation  to  be  baptized  now." 

"At  a  village  called  Dargahiwala,  five  miles  north  of  Qila,"  wrote 
the  Rev.  E.  P.  Swift  in  1885,  "great  earnestness  to  embrace  the 
Christian  religion  was  felt  among  the  low  castes.  The  catechists 
visited  the  place  several  times,  instructing  them  in  regard  to  the  plan 
of  salvation.  The  whole  Community  sent  a  message  to  me  to  come 
and  baptize  them.  Afterward  when  the  headman  of  the  village  dis- 
covered that  they  had  sent  for  a  padri'^  he  at  once  assembled  the 
people  and  told  them  not  to  become  Christians.  He  said  the  padri 
would  make  them  eat  frogs,  pigs  and  lizards,  and,  if  they  persisted  in 
becoming  Christians,  he  would  turn  them  out  from  the  village  and  en- 
tirely deprive  them  of  their  houses  and  work.  We  were  obliged  to 
leave  the  place  because  the  poor  people  had  lost  -all  courage  for  the 
time,  and  were  afraid  to  come  near  us.  This  plainly  shows  what  bitter 
hatred  the  Muhammadans  have  in  their  hearts  against  our  Lord  and 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ." 
'  And  sometimes  opposition  to  the  baptism  of  members  of  the  de- 
pressed classes  is  also  received  from  their  own  caste  (or  no-caste) 
brethren.  Often  a  near  relative  (wife,  husband  or  mother)  gives  as 
much  trouble  to  an  inquirer,  or  a  candidate  for  baptism,  as  a  similar 
relative  would  do  among  the  Hindus  or  the  Muhammadans;  and 
sometimes  the  number  of  such  opponents  is  overwlielming. 

When  Piyara,  a  Meg,  wanted  to  be  baptized  in  Zafarwal,  he  was  at 

*  The  common  name  for  a  Christian  minister  in  India. 


234  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

first  forcibly  kept  by  his  friends  from  going  to  church  for  this  purpose; 
but  afterward  he  escaped  and  obtained  the  rite. 

When  Cheddu  of  Naya  Pind  (a  Meg  also)  was  converted,  he  met 
with  great  opposition  from  his  wife  and  all  his  kinsfolk,  and  on  this 
account  was  hindered  from  making  an  early  profession.  But  his  con- 
science troubled  him,  especially  when  he  was  sick,  and  finally  he  sum- 
moned up  sufficient  courage  to  face  all  difiiculties  and  confess  Christ. 
His  wife  told  him  that  if  she  had  known  that  he  would  become  a 
Christian  she  would  have  poisoned  him. 

From  Ramnagar,  in  the  Gujranwala  District,  Miss  McCullough 
wrote,  Feb.  i,  1892,  "  People  at  home  as  well  as  here  have  the  idea 
that  it  is  not  hard  for  the  low-caste  people  to  become  Christians. 
With  my  own  eyes  I  have  seen  that  it  is  hard  for  the  respectable  ones 
among  them  to  do  so.  Yesterday  a  young  man,  named  Piran  Ditta,  a 
sweeper,  was  baptized.  His  family  is  among  the  best  of  his  class. 
He  has  been  an  inquirer  for  some  months.  Saturday  he  came  to  us 
and  said  that  he  desired  to  be  baptized  on  the  Sabbath.  We  found 
that  he  wanted  his  wife  also  to  become  a  Christian,  and  that  she  in- 
tended to  comply  with  his  wish.  We  found,  too,  that  he  had  endured 
a  great  deal  of  persecution  because  he  had  openly  declared  that  he  was 
a  Christian,  and  intended  to  be  baptized  in  his  own  village,  and  wanted 
all  to  be  present  to  see  the  rite  performed.  The  Muhammadans  tried 
to  persuade  him  to  join  them  and  offered  hi.ii  a  salary  if  he  would  do 
so.  Yesterday,  when  he  had  received  baptism,  during  the  prayer,  his 
mother  began  to  beat  him  with  a  stick.  He  jumped  and  ran  to  one 
side  ;  and,  after  giving  Laddha  the  catechist  a  blow,  she  ran  after  her 
son  and  beat  him  thoroughly,  first  with  the  stick  and  afterward  with 
her  shoe — at  the  same  time  weeping,  and  giving  him  the  worst  kind  of 
abusive  talk.     He  just  stood  and  took  it  all." 

The  harsh  treatment  which  people  continue  to  receive  after  they 
have  professed  Christianity  has  also  a  deterrent  influence  on  all  who 
think  of  joining  their  ranks.  This  ill  treatment  assumes  a  variety  of 
forms.  Sometimes  our  people  are  turned  out  of  employment ;  some- 
times they  are  kept  from  getting  water  at  a  public  well ;  sometimes 
troublesome  lawsuits  are  brought  against  them  and  they  are  involved 
in  debt ;  sometimes  they  are  compelled  to  do  more  than  their  share  of 
work  for  government  officers,  and  that  too  without  pay — as  has  been 
the  case  when  a  Lieut. -Governor  or  a  Financial  Commissioner  made 
his  tour  through  a  District ;  sometimes  they  are  unjustly  put  upon  the 


OPPRESSION  OF  CHRISTIANS 


235 


/ 


official  list  of  rogues  and  are  consequently  exposed  to  frequent  arrest 
and  much  suffering — as  was  often  done  in  the  Sialkot  District ;  some- 
times they  are  falsely  accused  of  crime  and  thrown  into  prison  ;  some- 
times they  are  cruelly  beaten,  as  Bir  Singh  was  by  the  farmers  of  Gan- 
gohar  in  1887  ;  sometimes  they  are  deprived  of  their  property  by  force 
or  fraud,  and  treated  with  the  greatest  indignity;  sometimes  they  are 
kept  from  prosecuting  their 
own  trade,  as  was  the  case 
once  or  twice  at  Sialkot 
witli  a  bricklayer  named 
Prema;  sometimes  false 
stories  are  circulated  in 
regard  to  their  character ; 
sometimes  a  private  wrong 
is  done  them  and,  instead 
of  obtaining  redress,  they 
are  punished  as  though  this 
wrong  had  been  done  by 
themselves  to  the  perpetra- 
tors. 

Two  instances  may  be 
specially  mentioned. 

One  is  that  of  a  young 
Muhammadan  living  in  the 
village  of  Bhado-Chida, 
who  was  baptized  in  1S94, 
and  on  account  of  this  act 
was  afterwards  called  upon 
to  endure  persecution.  He 
was  not  allowed  to  take 
water  from  the  common 
well,  although  he  owned  a 

third  of  it ;  and  one  of  tlie  rooms  attached  to  his  house  was  burned. 
Yet  we  are  told  that  he  remained  firm  in  the  faith  and  was  finally  estab- 
lished in  all  his  rights  by  the  Deputy  Commissioner. 

Another  is  the  case  of  Rura  of  Chimma.  When  he  was  a  lad  he 
went  out  to  cut  grass  with  some  other  boys.  The/<rz;/^/^/(a;/- of  Qila, 
Suba  Singh,  a  petty  officer,  came  along  and  demanded  the  grass  from 
him.     Low-caste  people,  '\i  sepies  (that  is,  a  kind  of  serfs),  are  expected, 


\ 


PUNJABI    POLICEMEN. 


236  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

and  indeed  bound,  to  comply  with  such  orders.  But  Rura's  father  was 
not  a  scpi.  So  he  said,  "  I  am  a  Christian,  I  wont  give  you  the 
grass."  This  enraged  \\\&  jamadar,  and  excUiiming,  "Why  do  you 
call  yourself  a  Christian  ?  "  he  took  the  grass  by  force,  beat  Rura  and 
said  to  the  farmers,  "  Let  some  one  arrange  it  so  that  this  boy  can  be 
put  in  prison."  A  man,  named  Maulu,  cut  some  of  his  own  maize  and 
mixed  it  with  the  grass  that  Rura  had  cut,  then  charged  him  with 
theft,  and  had  him  taken  into  custody  and  hand-cuffed.  The  same 
was  also  done  to  his  father,  and  it  was  with  the  greatest  difficulty  that, 
even  after  the  expiration  of  a  week,  they  could  recover  their  freedom. 
This  treatment  was  much  the  same  as  that  which  the  farmers  of  Mo- 
hanwala  threatened  the  Christians  of  that  place  after  the  missionary 
camp  would  be  removed.  They  said,  "  We  will  report  you  as  thieves, 
even  though  we  have  to  take  some  of  our  own  goods  and  put  them 
into  your  houses  as  a  basis  for  accusation." 

Once  a  woman  in  Gurdaspur  was  so  terribly  beaten  that  her  injuries 
resulted  in  death  ;  and,  while  something  else  was  ostensibly  the  occa- 
sion of  the  attack,  everybody  believed  that  the  real  cause  was  her  pro- 
fession of  Christianity.  Similar  instances  have  also  occurred  in  Zafar- 
wal  and  other  parts  of  our  field.  And  sometimes,  doubtless,  secret 
murders  of  our  members  occur,  about  which  we  can  only  entertain  sus- 
picion. But,  after  all,  cases  of  persecution  unto  death  within  the  limits 
of  our  field  are  rare  indeed.  For  this,  no  doubt,  we  have  reason  to 
thank  the  strong  arm  of  the  British  Government,  which,  while  unable 
to  prevent  or  remedy  all  minor  ills,  has  hitherto  provideniially  suc- 
ceeded in  protecting  most  of  the  Lord's  people  from  fatal  onslaughts. 

It  is  probable,  too,  that  tlie  rigors  of  caste  are  giving  way  to  some 
extent,  especially  in  the  case  of  Muhammadans,  and  that  the  time  may 
be  near  when  this  great  barrier  to  the  gospel  will  be  partly  removed. 

Muhammad  Husain,  several  months  after  his  baptism,  when  the  first 
flush  of  excitement,  anger  and  opposition  among  his  friends  and  core- 
ligionists had  died  away,  began  to  visit  his  mother  and  other  near  rela- 
tives in  their  own  home,  and  was  even  permitted  to  partake  of  food 
there,  though  apart  from  the  rest;  and  as  far  as  known  this  intimacy 
still  continues.     Other  similar  cases  might  also  be  given. 

But  the  day  of  an  easy  and  peaceful  confession  of  Christ  in  Lidia  is 
to  all  human  appearances  far  distant.  Hitherto,  at  least,  the  work  of 
evangelization  has  met  with  many  obstructions,  and  the  foundations 
of  Zion  have  been  laid  amid  the  jeers  and  missileb  of  bystanders. 


CHAPTER  XXI 


EVANGELISTIC  RESULTS— I 

General  Influence — Secret  Converts — Professing  Christians,  their  Numl)er  and  Dis- 
tribution— Classes  from  which  they  are  drawn — Causes  of  the  Distinction. 

jjHEN  Lady  Dilke  visited  India  in  the  winter  of  1888-89  ^^^ 
took  pains  to  examine  into  the  character  of  Christian  Mis- 
sions, what  struck  her  most  was  not  the  number  of  actual 
converts  which  they  made,  but  the  social  and  political 
influence  which  they  exerted  among  the  masses.  She  saw  how, 
by  means  of  education,  moral  teaching,  good  example,  social 
intercourse,  medical  aid  and  hearty  sympathy,  missionaries  and 
their  assistants  were  winning  the  hearts  of  the  people,  elevating  them 
in  the  scale  of  civilization  and  doing  a  work  even  for  British  Rule 
which  Anglo-Indian  officials  did  not  and  could  not  do.  "  It  seems 
to  me,"  she  said,  "  that  a  day  may  come  when  the  influence  of  their 
patient  and  self-sacrificing  devotion  will  have  created  a  bond  of  union 
between  ruled  and  rulers  which  shall  offer  a  stronger  resistance  to  the 
advance  of  foreign  foes  than  the  weight  of  our  sceptre  and  the  sharpness 
of  our  sword." 

And  the  position  thus  gained  by  such  laborers  appears  to  strike  al- 
most every  one  who  makes  a  brief  sojourn  in  India  and  does  not 
actually  shut  his  eyes  to  the  facts  of  the  case.  Well  does  the  writer 
remember  how,  when  Dr.  W.  W.  Barr  and  he  visited  our  Mission  in 
1880-81,  the  non-Christian  natives  of  Gujranwala  and  Sialkot  seemed 
to  vie  with  Christian  converts  in  showing  their  appreciation  of  the 
benefits  conferred  upon  them  by  the  missionaries  and  the  church,  from 
which  they,  as  well  as  their  visitors,  had  come.  And  even  such  Anglo- 
Indian  papers  as  the  Civil  and  Military  Gazette,  of  Lahore,  concede 
the  point  without  question.  Referring  to  Lady  Dilke's  conclusion  that 
"  socially  and  politically  the  missionary  is  a  success,"  that  paper  says, 
"  It  is  a  pity  she  should  have  wasted  time  in  proving  such  an  estab- 

(237) 


238 


LIFE   AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 


lished  fact.  No  one  for  a  moment  doubts  that  as  a  teacher  and  an 
examplar  of  Western  doctrine  and  conduct  the  missionary  is  worth  the 
price."  And,  in  reviewing  Sir  Charles  Aitchison's  glowing  address 
on  the  probability  of  converting  India  by  means  of  missions,  it  admits 
"  that  India  must  profit  by  the  non-official  teaching  of  a  creed,  whose 
morality  is  above  reproach,  by  men  whose  motives  are  above 
suspicion." 

Besides  this,  there  is  no  doubt  that  our  own  Mission,  as  well  as 
others,  has  secured  in  many  minds  an  intellectual  belief  in  tlie  truth  of 

Christianity.  Natives  not  a  few 
have  been  brought  to  see  its 
superiority  to  tlieir  own  faith. 
They  acknowledge  its  ability 
to  purify  society,  spread  intelli- 
gence, stimulate  enterprise,  ad- 
vance civilization,  create  wealth 
and  conquer  the  world.  Tliey 
recognize  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  a  Person  whose  equal 
has  never  appeared  on  the  earth. 
Were  the  people  around  them 
all  ready  for  the  change  they 
would  willingly  abolish  Hin- 
duism and  Muliammadanism 
and  substitute  in  their  stead 
that  religion  which  has  made 
the  West  so  much  greater  than 
the  East.  Without  any  spiritual 
conviction,  or  enough  interest 
in  the  matter  to  break  caste  and  follow  an  independent  course,  they 
yet  might  be  called  Christians  as  truly  as  many  in  England  and  America 
who  actually  bear  the  Christian  name. 

Further,  we  can  confidently  claim  some  secret  converts — an  unregis- 
tered company  of  true  believers,  whose  profession  of  faith  in  Christ  has 
gone  no  further  than  that  of  credible  private  statements  made  to  Chris- 
tian workers,  or  perhaps  noiseless  actions  indicating  more  certainly 
than  words  that  a  change  had  been  wrought  in  their  hearts. 

A  Hindu  woman  of  Gujranwala,  for  instance,  showed  the  utmost 
anxiety  to  hear  and  learn   about  Clirist  and  to  commit  the  Bible  to 


CIVILIZATION    AND    SAVAGERY. 


SECRET  CONVERTS  239 

memory.  Such  passages  as  John  3:16  were  very  dear  to  her.  Though 
persecuted  by  her  friends,  and  forbidden  by  her  guru  to  read  or  hear 
the  gospel,  she  persisted  in  her  course  and  said,  "  I  feel  as  if  God 
would  take  away  my  very  life  if  I  quit  reading  and  I  cannot  help  it." 
She  was  also  very  fond  of  prayer  and  experienced  the  greatest  willingness 
to  try  to  obey  God's  commandments  as  fast  as  she  learned  what  they 
were.  Her  spirit,  too,  seemed  to  be  of  the  most  childlike  character. 
And  yet  she  was  not  a  public  professor  of  Christianity. 

Another  zenana  inmate  of  the  same  place  once  said,  "  I  would  gladly 
leave  this  house  of  ease  and  plenty  and  beg  my  food  from  door  to  door 
if  I  could  be  free  to  serve  Christ." 

Again  a  Brahman,  of  Zafarwal,  who  for  some  time  had  been  an  in- 
quirer and  had  often  attended  religious  service,  was  taken  fatally  ill, 
and  on  his  death-bed,  though  surrounded  by  Hindu  relatives,  made 
great  efforts  to  secure  the  visit  of  some  person  who  could  tell  him  more 
about  Christ.  Providentially  no  one  could  be  found  near  enough  to 
gratify  his  desire.  Who  knows  but  that  the  seed  already  sown  in  his 
heart  may  have  been  growing  secretly,  and  that,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
dying  thief,  though  unwatered  by  sacramental  ordinances,  it  may  now 
be  bearing  fruit  in  paradise? 

So  also  may  it  be  with  one  who  on  earth  belonged  to  the  other  ex- 
treme of  Hindu  society — the  sweepers'  caste.  She  was  tlie  wife  of 
a  Christian,  and  died  of  consumption  at  Gujranwala  in  1884.  Though 
never  baptized,  she  always  took  pleasure,  during  her  illness,  in  the 
visits  of  Christian  workers,  and  frequently  asked  them  to  read  God's 
Word  to  her  and  pray  with  her.  She  often  said  that  she  trusted  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  loved  God  very  much  for  sending  his  Son  into 
the  world  to  save  sinners.  Her  husband  also  testified  that  she  loved 
and  trusted  the  Saviour  and  that  even  the  heathen  women  around  her 
said,  "  She  died  a  Christian." 

Indeed  so  frequently  are  cases  of  apparent  religious  earnestness  met 
with  outside  of  the  church  that  one  of  our  number  says,  ''  I  believe 
there  are  more  Christians  in  India  than  we  fancy.  Baptism  is  not  a 
saving  ordinance.     There  are  many  hidden  ones." 

But  the  chief  proof  of  our  evangelistic  success  is  to  be  found  after  all 
in  the  number  and  the  character  of  our  professing  converts.  However 
much  men  may  belittle  statistics  (while  perhaps  they  magnify  the  in- 
definite considerations  to  which  our  attention  has  just  been  directed), 
it  cannot  after  all  be  successfully  denied  that  statistics  are  by  all  odds 


240  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

the  most  tangible  and  trustworthy  basis  upon  which  to  rest  our  conclu- 
sions. If  Elijah  was  encouraged  by  the  fact,  when  made  known  to 
him,  that  7000  Israelites  had  not  bowed  the  knee  to  Baal,  and  even 
angels  are  said  to  rejoice  over  the  conversion  of  one  repenting  sinner, 
the  Christian  Church  now  need  not  be  ashamed,  or  afraid,  to  enumerate 
the  trophies  secured  by  her  representatives  in  heathen  lands — whether 
these  trophies  are  numbered  by  ones  or  by  thousands.  It  is  only  a 
kind  of  infidelity  which  contends  that  statistical  tables,  when  discreetly 
prepared  and  intelligently  examined,  are  misleading. 

Tables  showing  the  progress  of  evangelistic  work  in  our  field  are 
given  in  the  Appendix  to  this  volume. 

From  these  tables  we  learn  that  during  the  fifteen  years,  beginning 
Jan.  I,  1880,  and  ending  Dec.  31,  1894,  9451  adults  were  baptized  on 
their  own  profession  of  the  Christian  faith  and  that  there  were  at  the 
end  of  that  time  within  our  bounds  5756  persons  termed  either  com- 
municants or  baptized  adults ;  besides  3894  other  baptized  persons — 
making  a  total  in  our  Christian  community  of  9650  souls.* 

Compared  with  the  multitudes  around  us  this  number  seems  but 
a  drop  in  the  bucket,  being  less  than  one  in  every  400  of  the  en- 
tire population.  And  when  we  compare  our  absolute  increase  with 
the  growth  of  the  general  community  during  the  period  referred  to, 
the  advancement  made  seems  to  be  not  only  small  but  entirely  hope- 
less. While  the  Mission  has  gained  only  a  little  over  9000  persons,  the 
community  as  a  wliole  has  increased  about  500,000  ;  that  is,  there  are 
now  within  the  bounds  of  our  field  about  490,000  more  people  outside 
of  the  pale  of  the  Christian  Church  than  there  were  at  the  close  of  the 
year  1879. 

But  when  we  compare  percentages  of  increase  the  comparison  puts 
on  a  different  aspect.  Supposing  that  we  had  a  Christian  community 
of  500  at  the  beginning  of  the  year  1880  and  9650  at  the  close  of  1894, 
our  percentage  of  increase  for  the  fifteen  years  intervening  would  be 
about  1830;  while  that  of  the  population  generally  was  only  about  fif- 
teen or  sixteen.  That  is,  the  ratio  of  Christian  growth  has  been  120 
times  as  great  as  that  of  the  people  taken  as  a  whole.  Supposing  the 
same  ratios  of  increase  to  continue  during  the  next  fifteen  years,  we 

*  No  account  is  here  taken  of  the  large  number  of  persons  who  were  dismissed  to 
other  denominations  at  the  time  of  the  readjustment  of  our  mission  boundaries. 
Through  this  process  we  experienced  a  net  loss  of  800  or  looo  communicants  and 
1200  or  1500  of  Christian  population. 


COMPARATIVE    GROWTH  IN  NUMBERS  241 

should  have,  at  the  close,  a  Christian  population  of  over  175,000, 
while  the  whole  census  would  indicate  an  increase  of  650,000 ;  and 
during  a  subsequent  period  of  like  length  the  Christian  Church  would 
begin  to  take  rapid  strides  in  advance  of  the  general  community.  But, 
as  such  calculations  in  regard  to  the  future  are  largely  speculative,  all 
we  need  affirm  here  is  that  the  work  has  made  a  good  beginning  and 
promises,  with  God's  blessing,  to  approach  nearer  and  nearer  the  goal 
of  complete  conquest. 

Compared  with  similar  work  around  us,  too,  we  have  much  reason  to 
be  thankful.  According  to  the  statistics  of  the  Decennial  Missionary 
Conference,  the  entire  Protestant  Native  Christian  Community  in  the 
Punjab  in  1881  was  4762  ;  in  1891  it  was  20,729 — a  growth  of  335  per 
cent.  Our  figures  for  the  same  years  were  660  and  10,165  respec- 
tively— that  is,  an  increase  of  1440  per  cent.  It  will  be  seen,  too,  that 
our  total  Christian  population  was  almost  one-half  that  of  the  whole 
Punjab,  although  we  had  only  12  out  of  a  total  of  91  ordained  mission- 
aries, 24  out  of  a  total  of  126  lady  workers  and  10  out  of  a  total  of  50 
native  ministers. 

Compared  with  India  generally  also  our  growth  was  good.  In  1881 
there  were  417,372  Protestant  native  Christians  in  the  whole  peninsula  ; 
in  1890  there  were  559,661 — an  increase  of  about  34  per  cent.  Our 
increase  for  the  same  period,  as  already  seen,  was  1440  per  cent. 

Even  compared  with  similar  work  in  the  North  India  Conference  of 
the  American  M.  E.  Church,  ours  was  quite  hopeful  during  the  period 
referred  to  ;  for  their  Christian  population  increased  only  303  per  cent., 
or  about  one-fifth  that  of  our  percentage.  But  since  1890,  when  our 
progress  almost  came  to  a  standstill,  they  have  been  advancing  so 
rapidly  as  to  leave  us  far  in  the  rear.  In  April,  1894,  the  whole  Na- 
tive Christian  Community,  reported  in  the  statistics  of  their  India  and 
Malaysia  Missions,  numbered  72,000,  and  people  were  being  added  to 
their  roll  at  the  rate  of  fifty  a  day. 

The  9650  native  Christians  now  in  our  field  are  distributed  as  fol- 
lows:  1959  in  the  Sialkot  Mission  District;  2721  in  Pasrur ;  1270  in 
Zafarwal  ;  2202  in  E.  Gujranwala ;  712  in  W.  Gujranwala;  595  in 
Gurdaspur ;  39  in  Pathankot ;  79  in  Jhelum  ;  46  in  Rawal  Pindi ;  and 
27  in  Bhera.*  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  great  body  of  them  are 
found  within  the  limits  of  a  comparatively  small  region  just  north  of 
the  thirty-second  parallel  of  latitude,  between  the  seventy-fourth  and 

*  See  map. 
16 


242 


LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 


the  seventy-fifth  degrees  of  longitude — Sialkot  Civil  District  forming 
the  central  section,  with  parts  of  Gujranwala  and  Gurdaspur  flanking 
it  on  the  western  and  eastern  borders.  This  result  is  not  surprising, 
since  that  is  the  region  where  we  have  worked  longest  and  most — as  it 
is  also  the  region  where  live  the  majority  of  that  class  of  people  from 
which  we  have  drawn  the  principal  part  of  our  converts. 

As  early  as  1859  a  very  interesting  movement  towards  Christianity 
began  among  the  Megs  of  Zafarwal  and  has  continued,  though  not  with 
uniform  power,  from  that  time  down  to  the  present.* 

But  the  movement  which  has  brought  the  most  converts  into  our 
fold  originated  in  1873  ^^  Marali,  which  was  then  attached  to  the 
Sialkot  Mission  District,  but  afterward  (from 
1882  to  18S7  inclusive)  to  the  Zafarwal  District, 
and  since  then  has  been  included  in  the  Pasrur 
District.  This  was  a  movement  among  the 
Chuhras,  a  small,  lame  man,  named  Ditt,  who 
is  now  an  elder  at  Marali,  being  its  first  convert 
and  the  chief  agent  in  causing  its  early  spread 
there.  From  Marali  this  work  extended  in 
various  directions  wherever  Chuhras  were  settled 
until  it  had  reached  every  one  of  our  Mission 
Districts  except  Rawal  Pindi,  Jhang  and  per- 
haps Jhelum.  But  the  movement  in  Gujranwala 
among  this  class  originated  almost  as  early  and 
may  have  been  altogether  independent.  This 
started  at  Dogra  taiti,  near  the  city,  and  Karm 
Bakhsh,  now  an  elder  and  earnest  worker,  was 
its  first  fruit.  But  whether  independent  or  not,  the  influences 
emanating  from  both  centers  soon  coalesced  and  co-operated  with 
one  another  in  their  advancing  course. 

The  most  productive  years  in  our  history  were  the  seven  commenc- 
ing with  1883  and  ending  with  1889 — 1886  being  the  climax,  when 
1936  adults  and  719  infants  were  baptized.  But  as  the  rise  of  the  tide 
was  not  uniform  so  neither  has  been  its  fall.  The  year  18S8  was  more 
fruitful  in  conversions  than  1887,  and  1889  far  surpassed  any  year  pre- 
ceding 1886.  Since  1889  there  have  been  considerable  yearly  addi- 
tions by  baptism — more  than  there  were  before  the  year  1883  ;  but 
after  all,  to  our  apparent  discredit,  they  have  not  been  specially  re- 

*  Until  1882  Zafarwal  was  included  in  the  Sialkot  Mission  District. 


UNDER    FULL   SAIL. 


FROM   WHAT  CLASSES  CONVERTS   COME  243 

markable  except  in  one  or  two  localities,  while  losses  have  been  so 
great  on  account  of  the  readjustment  of  boundaries,  and  for  other 
reasons,  that  our  net  total  Christian  population  was  300  less  at  the 
close  of  1894  than  five  years  previously. 

From  what  classes  do  these  converts  come?  Briefly  speaking,  there 
have  been  more  men  converted  tlian  women — more  villagers  than  city 
people — more  poor  than  rich — more  illiterate  than  educated — and  more 
from  the  depressed  than  the  higher  classes. 

Perhaps  twice  as  many  men  as  women  have  been  baptized.  This 
has  been  due,  not  only  to  the  greater  intelligence  of  the  male  sex  in 
that  country  and  the  more  frequent  opportunities  which  they  have  had 
for  getting  light,  but  also  probably  to  the  more  conservative  character 
of  the  female  sex  and  their  greater  attachment  to  the  customs,  the  su- 
perstitions and  the  religion  of  their  ancestors.  Old  social  ties,  too, 
have  perhaps  been  stronger  in  their  case. 

The  proportion  of  village  to  city  Christians  may  be  inferred  from 
the  number  of  points  where  they  reside  (557  in  all)  and  the  fact  that 
we  have  at  most  only  a  few  places  altogether  within  the  limits  of  our 
field  that  may  be  called  cities  or  even  towns.  Probably  nineteen- 
twentieths  of  our  people  live  in  villages  of  less  than  800  inhabitants. 
The  law  regulating  the  growth  of  the  Ancient  and  the  Mediaeval  Church 
seems,  therefore,  to  be  reversed  in  this  particular  as  far  as  we  are  con- 
cerned— as  far  indeed  as  India  Missions  generally  are  concerned.  It 
is  not  so  much  in  the  great  centers  that  we  find  success  as  in  country 
places.  Should  the  work  go  on  as  it  has  been  doing  for  a  kv^  genera- 
tions, the  words  heathen  and  pagan  will  not  be  appropriate  with  us  in 
designating  non-Christian,  idolatrous  people.  If  etymology  is  to  be 
regarded  in  the  use  of  terms,  2(rl?and.v\6.  citizen  will  have  to  take  their 
places. 

These  people,  too,  are  generally  poorer  than  those  who  reside  in 
towns,  while  those  who  confess  Christ  are  mostly  the  poorest  of  these 
poor.  The  great  body  of  our  Christians  are  common  coolies  or 
sweepers,  and  earn  a  precarious  livelihood  as  hired  laborers.  Many  of 
them  are  agriculturists,  but  work  for  Hindu  or  Moslem  farmers  in  a 
kind  of  serfdom.  Nor  is  this  serfdom  of  that  fixed  variety  which 
guarantees  permanent  home  and  perpetual  employment.  They  are 
liable  to  be  dismissed  from  time  to  time  at  the  will  of  their  masters. 
A  few  of  our  people  rent  and  farm  land  for  themselves,  while  a  rare  in- 


244  LIFE  AND    WORK  ]N  INDIA 

dividual,  here  and  there,  owns  property  as  other  zamindars  do.*  A 
number  of  the  Christians  speculate  in  skins  and  other  articles  of  mer- 
chandise;  some  weave  for  a  living;  some  are  house  servants  ;  some 
are  teachers,  scriveners,  policemen,  or  employees  in  the  civil  service; 
while  about  200  are  working  for  the  Mission.  Among  all  these  not 
one  would  be  called  wealthy  even  in  India,  and  probably  not  more 
than  one  family  in  a  hundred  makes  even  a  respectable  living;  while 
the  mass  of  our  members  would  be  glad  to  earn  two  or  three  dollars  a 
month,  each. 

That  our  converts  previous  to  their  baptism  were  generally  illiterate 
is  not  perhaps  in  itself  a  very  surprising  fact,  since  the  great  body  of 
the  people  in  India  are  of  this  character.  But  it  is  a  fact  which  ought 
to  be  noted,  because  some  persons  contend  that  education  is  almost  a 
necessary  preliminary  to  successful  evangelism  and  also  because  we 
have  labored  diligently  among  all  classes  of  society.  A  few  educated 
("wise")  men,  have  been  "called;"  perhaps  one  in  a  hundred  of 
our  adult  baptisms  has  sprung  from  this  class  ;  but  when  we  consider 
the  closeness  of  our  relation  to  the  educated  people  of  our  field,  both 
in  and  out  of  schools,  it  is  certainly  surprising  that  they  have  not  fur- 
nished us  more  converts.  Education  may  not  be  an  actual  hindrance 
to  the  belief  of  the  gospel,  but  the  history  of  our  work  shows  that  it 
is  at  least  not  much  of  a  helj).  Probably  pride  of  intellect  and  learn- 
ing overbalance  any  advantage  that  may  be  derived  from  clear  percep- 
tion and  logical  power.  The  humble  "unwise"  enter  into  the  king- 
dom of  heaven  before  those  of  an  opposite  character. f 

So  has  it  been  also  with  outcaste  and  low-caste  people.  Although 
constituting  but  a  small  percentage  of  the  entire  population,  they  have 
furnished  us  twenty  times  as  many  converts  as  all  the  rest  put  together. 

Not  that  we  have  lacked  in  the  matter  of  Hindu  and  Muhammadan 
conversions.  As  far  as  can  be  ascertained  we  have  had  as  many  of 
these  as  Missions  generally.  Indeed,  contrary  to  the  fears  of  some, 
our  work  among  the  depressed  classes  has  been  a  help,  rather  than  a 
hindrance,  to  work  among  the  higher  classes.  Hindus  and  Muham- 
madans,  who  would  take  their  children  out  of  a  school  established  for 
themselves,  on  the  introduction  of  low-caste  pupils,  are,  in  villages, 

*0n  inquiry  in  April,  1891,  it  was  found  that  of  the  98  boys  then  present  in  our 
Christian  Training  Institute  25  were  agriculturists,  while  only  one  of  these  came 
from  a  family  that  worked  its  own  land. 

t  See  pp.  165-167,  173. 


CONVERTS  FROM   THE   LOWLY  24o 

glad  enough  to  send  their  boys  and  girls  to  a  school  that  had  been  es- 
tablished primarily  for  Chuhra  Christians.  Efforts,  therefore,  to  edify 
our  village  people  furnish  additional  bases  for  operations  among  their 
"better-born"  neighbors.  Besides,  Chuhras  have  themselves  been 
known  to  be  the  agents  in  securing  Hindu  conversions.  And,  what  is 
still  more  important  perhaps,  the  conversion,  education,  moral  im- 
provement and  elevation  of  people,  who  have  for  generations  been  al- 
most beneath  contempt,  furnish  an  object  lesson  of  the  most  striking 
character,  showing  everywhere  in  unmistakable  language  the  power  of 
our  holy  religion,  and  this  influence  has  had  something  to  do  in  win- 
ning the  higher  classes. 

Still  our  main  success,  as  already  stated,  has  not  been  among  the 
latter  but  among  the  despised  and  the  downtrodden — among  those 
who  are  considered  too  degraded  to  have  even  a  name  or  a  place  in 
the  system  of  Hindu  caste. 

This,  however,  is  by  no  means  an  exceptional  fact.  All  the  ad- 
vance movements  of  Christian  Missions  in  India  have  been  among 
similar  people.  It  is  from  the  Karens,  the  Telugus,  the  Santals,  the 
Chamars,  the  Kols,  the  Khasis,  the  Shanars,  the  Chuhras,  and  other 
tribes  of  like  standing,  that  the  present  Indian  Church  has  received 
the  great  body  of  its  membership  ;  and  the  Salvation  Army  seems  to 
get  a  large  part  of  its  soldiers  from  the  Dheds  of  Gujarat,  the  Mahars 
of  Poona  and  the  Pariahs  of  Cape  Comorin.  No  remarkable  work  has 
ever  yet  been  reported  among  the  Brahmans,  the  Rajputs,  the  Khatri- 
yas,  or  even  the  Muhammadans. 

Such  also  has  ever  been  the  history  of  Christian  Missions.  The 
gospel,  in  permeating  society,  has  almost  always  filtered  up  instead  of 
down.  Except  when  propagated  by  force,  it  usually  begins  with  the 
lower  strata  of  the  people  and  gradually  rises  until  it  reaches  the  noble 
and  the  great.  It  was  a  matter  of  reproach  in  the  early  days  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  strenuously  urged  against  it  by  its  enemies,  that  "  the  new 
sect  was  composed  almost  entirely  of  the  dregs  of  the  populace,  of 
peasants  and  mechanics,  of  boys  and  women,  of  beggars  and  slaves." 
And  earlier  still,  the  Apostle  Paul  writes  to  the  Corinthians:  "  Ye  see 
your  calling,  brethren,  how  that  not  many  Avise  men  after  the  flesh,  not 
many  mighty,  not  many  noble,  are  called  ;  but  God  hath  chosen  the 
foolish  things  of  the  world  to  confound  the  wise ;  and  God  hath 
chosen  the  weak  things  of  the  world  to  confound  the  things  which  are 
mighty ;  and  base  things  of  the  world,  and  things  which  are  despised, 


246  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

hath  God  chosen,  yea,  and  things  wliich  are  not,  to  bring  to  nought 
things  that  are:  that  no  flesh  should  glory  in  His  presence."  Other 
words  could  scarcely  be  selected  more  fitting  than  these  to  describe 
the  condition  of  the  Indian  Church  at  the  present  time.* 

And  then-,  besides  being  in  accordance  with  God's  usual  method  of 
operation,  this  result  has  been  favored  in  our  case  by  special  provi- 
dences : 

First,  by  the  fact  that  these  poor  people  are  without  caste,  and 
hence  free  from  those  restraining  rules  and  harsh  customs  which,  as  we 
have  seen,  do  so  much  to  prevent  the  spread  of  the  gospel  leaven. f 
Christian  converts  from  this  class  are  not  persecuted  as  much  by  their 
old  friends  as  those  that  come  to  us  from  Hinduism  or  Islam.  And, 
what  is  more  important,  they  are  allowed  to  remain  at  home  where  they 
can  act  as  evangelistic  workers  among  their  own  kindred. 

These  outcaste  people,  too,  are  freer  from  superstition  and  entangling 
error  than  others.  They  are  not  troubled  either  with  the  fierce  con- 
victions of  the  Moslems  or  the  ensnaring  philosophies  of  tlie  Hindus. 
Their  minds  are  more  of  a  blank  in  regard  to  religious  subjects  ;  and 
whatever  beliefs  they  have  resemble  more  the  teachings  of  Christianity 
than  do  those  of  most  of  the  iniiabitants  of  India. | 

Again,  this  class  have  been  for  some  time  in  a  transition  state. 
Little  by  little  their  old  religious  moorings  have  been  abandoned ;  one 
by  one  they  have  been  attaching  themselves  to  other  faiths.  North  of 
a  certain  latitude  almost  all  have  become  Muhammadans.  The  Musal- 
lies  of  Jheluni  belong  to  this  class  ;  as  also  do  many  in  the  Gujranwala 
District.  Some  have  adopted  Sikhism  and  thus  acquired  the  name  of 
Mazhabi  Sikhs — that  is,  Sikhs  by  religion.  Others  are  yielding  greater 
and  greater  homage  to  Bralimans  and  bid  fair  to  become,  at  some  future 
date,  a  Hindu  caste.  And  this  migratory  tendency  is  favored  by  their 
general  desire  to  rise  in  the  social  scale.  They  are  aiming  at  better 
things  in  every  point  of  view.  No  wonder  then  that  Christianity 
furnishes  for  them  elements  of  attraction,  and  that  some  are  led  to 
adopt  it  as  their  new  religion. 

And  especially  so  when  we  observe  again  that  their  tribal  traditions 
and  prophecies  point  in  this  direction.  Some  years  ago  Mrs.  S.  Mar- 
tin wrote  as  follows  :  "  The  wide  door  effectually  opened  among  these 
people  (the  Chuhras)  is  a  remarkable  providence.  There  is  a  wide- 
spread belief  among  them  to  this  effect  : — that  they  and  other  Hindus 

*  See  pp.  165-167,  173.  f  See  pp.  223-225.  J  See  pp.  11 7-1 19. 


A    CHUHRA    TRADITION 


247 


are  descended  from  a  common  ancestor,  tliat  at  one  time  a  cow  died 
in  front  of  this  ancestor's  home  and  that  the  elder  sons,  having  suc- 
cessively refused  to  remove  it,  induced  their  youngest  brother  Balmik, 
or  Balisha,  to  take  it  away,  promising  that  after  four  hours  he  should 
be  purified  and  restored  to  the  family.  At  the  end  of  the  four  hours 
they  put  it  off  till  the  fourth  day ;  and  on  the  fourth  day  it  was  post- 


COCOANUT  TREES. 


poned  for  four  months  ;  and  then  again,  for  four  years.  When  four 
years  had  transpired  they  declared  he  could  not  be  restored  at  that 
time,  but  a  promise  was  given  that  his  descendants  would  certainly  be 
restored  in  the  fourth  yi/g*  They  believe  that  this  fourth  yug  has 
now  come  and  that  Chiihras,  Hindus  and  Muhammadans  are  all  to  be- 
come Christians,  and  in  this  way  all  are  to  become  one  people." 
Through  such  traditional  sayings  and  beliefs  as  these  many  of  these 

*0r  j'tig — that  is,  age,  period. 


248 


LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 


outcastes  have  been  brought  under  Christian  instruction  and  through 
this  to  a  saving  knowledge  of  Christ. 

But  are  not  these  people,  morally  speaking,  the  most  depraved  part  of 
the  whole  community?  By  no  means.  Caste  in  India  has  nothing  to 
do  with  morals.  Intellectually,  indeed,  the  low  castes  are  beneath  the 
higher  castes ;  and  so  they  are  also  in  the  ability  to  lead,  hold  their 
own,  and  act  independently.  This  is  shown  where  both  classes  con- 
tend with  each  other,  on  an  equal  footing,  in  schools  and  other  places, 
and  is  proved  also  by  the  fact  that  they  have  been  kept  so  long  in  a 
state  of  subjection  ;  although  this  subordination  has  been  partly  the 
cause,  as  well  as  the  effect,  of  the  inferiority  mentioned,  and  may 
therefore  be  removed  in  time  by  a  course  of  training.  But,  as  far  as 
morals  are  concerned,  they  are  equal  to  any  other  great  class  in  British 
India  and  superior  to  some  of  these  classes. 


CHAPTER  XXII 


EVANGELISTIC  RESULTS— II 

Character  of  Native  Christians — Douljts  of  Some  Regarding  their  Piety — No  "  Re- 
vivals " — Many  Ignorant  and  Imperfect — Some  Fall  Away — Proofs  of  a  Work 
of  Grace — Many  Stand  Good  Church  Examinations — Make  Great  Sacrifices — ■ 
Bear  Persecution — Desire  Knowledge — Love  their  Christian  Teachers — Ex- 
hibit Comparatively  High  Morality^Christian  Servants,  Worthless  or  Not? — 
Why — Native  Christians  Not  Specially  Covetous — But  Liberal — Show  Continual 
Improvement — Are  Anxious  for  the  Salvation  of  Others — Testimony  as  to  the 
Character  of  Individuals — Ameera — Daulah — Clihero. 

UND  now  comes  the  inquiry,  What  is  the  spiritual  and  moral 
cliaracter  of  our  professing  Christians  ?  Are  they  truly 
united  to  the  Saviour  or  not?  This  is  a  question  which 
is  often  asked,  and  especially  in  regard  to  those  who 
come  to  us  from  the  depressed  classes.  And  there  are  unfriendly 
critics  who  do  not  hesitate  to  give  them  a  bad  name  and  to 
say  that  our  work  is  destitute  of  the  marks  of  a  work  of  grace,  or  at 
least  of  a  great  work  of  grace.  The  same  thing,  too,  has  been  said  of 
work  among  similar  classes  elsewhere,  and  even  of  the  whole  mass  of 
native  Christians  in  India.  Such  superficial  observers  as  Canon  Tay- 
lor, and  even  many  Anglo-Indian  officials,  speak  of ''  the  great  mis- 
sionary failure"  and  refuse  to  believe  that  any  Christianizing  influence 
has  been  exerted  on  those  of  the  Indian  people  who  have  been  brought 
into  the  church.  A  member  of  the  Civil  Service  writes  that  99  per 
cent,  of  his  associates  consider  every  native  Christian  a  blackguard,  a 
thief  and  a  liar  ;  although  his  own  testimony  on  the  subject,  after 
thorough  trial,  is  the  very  opposite  ;  and  Dr.  Robson  says  that  native 
Christians  are  better  exponents  of  Christianity  than  the  majority  of 
Anglo-Indians  themselves. 

It  is  admitted  that  our  people  have  not  been  led  to  profess  Christ 
through  the  gateway  of  what  is  called  a  "  revival ;  "  that  is,  through 
the  instrumentality  of  mass-meetings  in  which  the  Spirit  of  God  has 

(249) 


250 


LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 


demonstrated  His  overwhelming  power  by  the  production  of  loud  cries, 
or  other  expressions  of  deep  feeling.  We  have  had  no  pentecostal 
outpourings  where  individuals  exhibited  profound  conviction  of  sin, 
great  fear  of  divine  wrath  or  strong  love  for  the  Saviour,  or  where  the 
mass  of  the  hearers  seemed  to  be  swayed  hither  and  thither  by  the 
irresistible  impulse  of  a  Superior  Presence.  Nor,  as  far  as  the  writer  is 
aware,  have  there  been  any  such  revivals  among  the  natives  anywhere 
else  in  all  India.  This  may  be  due  to  the  peculiarity  of  their  tempera- 
ment— not  being  an  emotional  people — or  it  may  be  due  to  the  fact 
that  Christianity  comes  to  them,  not  so  much  as  an  old  faith,  already 
accepted  in  a  historical  sense,  to  be  now  received  also  with  the  heart, 
as  a  new  faith  to  be  now  acknowledged  as  the  only  true  religion  for 

the  first  time  with  the  understanding  as 
well  as  the  emotions.  But,  whatever 
may  be  the  cause,  such  no  doubt  is  the 
actual  history  of  our  work. 

It  must  be  admitted  also  that   many 
of  our  people,  as  yet,  are  very  ignorant. 
They  have  only  lately  come   from   the 
depths  of  heathenism  and  spiritual  dark- 
ness.   The   older   ones   have  not  been 
educated.     They  lack   the    intellectual 
discrimination  necessary  for  profound  thought  and  the  memory  needful 
to  retain  much  truth.     Their  opportunities  for  information,  too,  have 
been  limited. 

Moreover,  many  of  them  exhibit  great  imperfection  of  life  and  char- 
acter, just  as  Christians  do  all  the  world  over.  Indeed,  it  is  only  right 
to  say  that  in  some  respects  they  are  exceptionally  weak.  Those  sins 
to  which  they  were  peculiarly  liable  in  an  unconverted  state  cannot  be 
uprooted  all  at  once.  Superstitions  and  temptations  to  immorality 
still  retain  something  of  their  former  power ;  their  views  of  Christian 
marriage  are  defective ;  and  the  Sabbath  is  not  kept  by  them  as  it  is 
in  America  and  Scotland.  Nor  are  religious  habits  of  any  kind  as 
universally  and  as  firmly  fixed  as  they  ought  to  be  ;  while  periods 
of  spiritual  declension  may  be  noted  in  the  case  of  individuals  and 
even  whole  communities,  which  lasts  for  months  and  sometimes 
years. 

Many  also  reveal  in  time  the  fact  that  they  have  never  experienced  a 
change  of  heart.     Some  fall  into  gross  sin  and  are  suspended  from  the 


GILAHRIES. 


PROOFS   OF  PIETY   OF  NATIVE    CHRISTIANS  251 

privileges  of  the  church.  Some  commit  crime  and  find  a  lodging-place 
in  jail.     A  few  apostatize  and  return  to  their  former  faith. 

Still,  tliat  many  of  the  conversions  are  genuine  and  that  a  great 
work  of  grace  has  been  going  on  in  our  field,  can  be  established,  we 
think,  by  convincing  proofs. 

One  proof  is  the  character  of  the  answers  which  they  give  when  they 
are  admitted  into  the  church  on  examination.  These  often  exhibit 
great  simplicity,  earnestness  and  real  religious  experience.  An  ex- 
aminer, hearing  them,  cannot  resist  the  conclusion  that  the  applicants 
are  sincere  in  their  Christian  profession. 

Great  sacrifices  are  also  sometimes  made  by  many  who  join  the 
church  and  a  willingness  is  shown  to  abandon  everything  that  is  op- 
posed to  Christianity.  An  exorcist  of  Pasrur,  for  instance,  who  relied 
lupon  his  conjurations  as  a  means  of  livelihood,  gave  up  his  business 
entirely  in  honor  of  the  wonder-working  Messiah  and  after  baptism 
earned  his  bread  by  the  sweat  of  his  brow. 

Persecution,  too,  as  we  have  already  seen,*  is  frequently  endured 
upon  such  occasions,  and  this  persecution,  moreover,  is  often  of  the 
most  trying  character,  and  may  be  continued  for  many  years.  It  is 
hard  to  see  how  men  can  voluntarily  bear  so  much  opposition  and  suf- 
fering, without  the  prospect  of  much  temporal  good  as  a  result,  if  they 
are  not  true  Christians. 

Many  of  our  people  have  also  a  great  desire  for  knowledge,  both 
secular  and  religious.  The  village  schools  are  well  attended  and 
parents  generally  want  their  children  to  study  also  in  the  Christian 
Training  Institute  ;  while  the  love  of  preachers  and  preaching  is  widely 
diffused  and  sometimes  intense.  Often  requests  are  made  by  Chris- 
tians for  the  establishment  of  a  school  in  their  village  or  for  the  loca- 
tion of  a  Christian  worker  there.  Voluntary,  independent  movements, 
too,  are  sometimes  attempted.  A  young  man  living  at  a  village  three 
miles  distant  from  Badomalli  attended  school  at  the  latter  place  in  the 
morning  and  in  the  afternoon  gathered  the  children  together  in  his 
own  town — his  little  sisters  along  with  the  rest — and  taught  them  from 
day  to  day  what  he  had  learned  himself,  and  appeared  to  do  it  well ; 
nor  did  he  seem  to  expect  any  compensation  for  the  work. 

Frequently  the  warmth  of  affection  shown  by  village  Christians  for 
their  religious  instructors  is  very  touching.  They  will  run  to  meet 
them  as  they  are  approaching  their  town,  escort  them  to  their  lodging- 
*  See  pp.  229-236. 


252  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

place,  give  them  the  best  attention  which  their  circumstances  allow, 
express  great  regret  that  they  cannot  come  oftener  and  even  send  for 
them  when  their  absence  becomes  protracted.  "  Sometimes  I  feel 
almost  discouraged,"  says  a  zenana  worker,  "when  people  in  the  vil- 
lage send  for  us  to  come  to  them  and  seem  so  eager  to  hear,  and  at  the 
same  time  have  the  women  in  the  city  scolding  because  we  do  not  go 
oftener  to  them,  when  we  are  working  to  the  point  of  exhaustion  every 
day."  Nor  is  it  the  worker  alone  who  is  loved.  The  message  which 
he  brings  is  after  all  the  chief  attraction.  Says  a  superintendent  of 
missions,  "  Men  who  have  worked  from  sunrise  to  sunset  under  the  In- 
dian sun  in  the  harvest  field  sit  gladly  till  almost  midnight  to  listen  to 
the  gospel."  Occasionally,  too,  peoj)le  will  go  a  long  distance  to  hear 
the  Word.  A  woman  in  the  Pasrur  District  once  walked  ten  miles, 
carrying  a  baby,  to  attend  religious  services  ;  and  others  walked  twelve 
miles,  carrying  their  little  ones,  to  be  present  at  a  meeting  of  the 
Women's  Missionary  Association  at  Zafarwal,  in  the  winter  of 
1892-93. 

It  may  also  be  confidently  affirmed  that  the  standard  of  morality  and 
good  conduct  among  our  people  is  higher  than  it  is  among  the  classes 
from  which  tliey  iiave  sprung.  Cases  of  discipline,  scandaloussin,  and 
apostasy  do  indeed  sometimesarise  ;  but  they  are  rare — rarer,  too,  among 
low-caste  converts  than  among  others.  Comparatively  speaking,  we  have 
little  trouble  on  account  of  the  use  of  opium  or  strong  drink,  stealing 
or  profanity,  false  swearing  or  rioting,  idolatry  or  exorcism,  polygamy 
or  wife-beating,  or  even  breaches  of  the  seventh  commandment.  And, 
while  there  is  often  reluctance  shown  to  bring  offenders  to  justice  in 
ecclesiastical  courts,  it  is  doubtful  whether  more  of  this  feeling  exists 
among  Christians  in  India  than  in  America. 

That  some  native  professing  Christian  domestics  are  worthless  is  no 
doubt  true,  and  that  even  missionaries,  knowing  the  temptations  which 
beset  servants  and  aware  that  few  besides  those  who  are  disqualified  for 
higher  work  apply  for  employment  in  this  capacity,  often  hesitate  to 
hire  them,  is  also  true  ;  but,  as  far  as  our  observation  goes,  there  is  no 
ground  for  that  wholesale  condemnation  of  those  who  enter  domestic 
service  which  is  fashionable  in  certain  quarters.  A  part  of  them  adorn 
their  Christian  profession  in  this  sphere  and  set  a  good  example  to  their 
associates ;  while  the  average  honesty  and  faithfulness  of  the  whole 
class  is  certainly  superior  to  that  of  Hindus  and  Muhammadans  in  a 
like  position. 


NATIVE    CHRISTIANS— THEIR    IIBERALITY  253 

The  causes  of  the  preference  given  by  many  Englishmen  to  heathen 
domestics  and  employees  are  various.  One  has  heard  Christian  ser- 
vants condemned  by  a  friend  ;  another  has  tried  one  and  found  him 
wanting  ;  a  third  fears  their  employment  would  arouse  the  jealousy  or 
the  opposition  of  other  servants  ;  another  dislikes  the  strain  of  always 
setting  a  good  example  to  those  who,  he  knows,  are  constantly  ex- 
pecting it ;  another  wants  his  private  life  hidden  from  all  who  bear  the 
Christian  name  ;  another  prefers  servants  whom  he  can  kick  and  cuff 
as  "niggers,"  without  any  fear  of  scandal ;  another  despises  mission- 
aries and  all  who  are  connected  with  them. 

That  native  Christians  also  try  to  better  their  own  worldly  condi- 
tion, and  are  sometimes  even  covetous,  is  also  admitted.  In  this  respect 
they  resemble  their  brethren  in  other  parts  of  the  world,  especially  in 
England  and  America.  But  that  this,  with  them,  is  a  peculiarly  beset- 
ting sin  can  hardly  be  proved  ;  nor,  except  in  a  few  cases,  can  it  be 
shown  that  they  are  transgressing  the  spirit  of  a  commandment  which 
requires  "  the  lawful  procuring  and  furthering  the  wealth  and  outward 
estate  of  ourselves  and  others."  That  men  reduced  to  the  extreme  of 
poverty  which  they  exhibit  should  seek  more  of  the  comforts  of  life  is 
only  natural  and  right.  So  long  as  they  do  not  make  mammon  their 
god,  they  are  simply  treading  the  path  of  duty. 

And  we  find  that  this  trait  does  not  by  any  means  prevent  the  rise, 
or  suppress  the  growth,  of  Christian  liberality.  True,  the  aggregate  of 
their  religious  and  charitable  contributions  is  not  great,  and  many  fail 
to  give  as  the  Lord  hath  prospered  them.  But  some  do  remarkably 
well.  In  several  cases  churches  or  school  houses  have  been  erected 
wholly,  or  chiefly,  by  native  Christians.  A  number  of  laborers  have 
also  been  supported  by  the  funds  which  they  contributed.  For  some 
time  nearly  all  the  members  of  the  Sialkot  church  gave  three  per  cent, 
of  their  income  to  make  up  the  pastor's  salary.  Hundreds  of  rupees 
were  given  yearly  by  natives  to  swell  the  Presbyterial  treasury.  Vol- 
untary thank-offerings,  moreover,  have  not  been  unknown  ;  and, 
where  cash  was  not  available,  farm  products  have  been  substituted.  At 
Badoki,  for  example,  a  large  brass  pan  is  sometimes  set  in  the  midst  of 
the  congregation,  in  which,  at  the  proper  time,  men,  women  and 
children  deposit  the  contributions  of  various  kinds  of  grain  which  they 
bring  in  their  cotton  shawls  and  chadars.  And  the  chief  reason,  no 
doubt,  why  larger  results  in  this  direction  are  not  realized  is  because 
suitable  means  have  not  yet  been  employed  everywhere  to  secure  them. 


254  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

The  fact,  too,  that  in  most  cases  continual  improvement  in  every 
respect  is  manifested,  and  that  even  backsliders  have  been  reclaimed, 
goes  far  to  prove  the  presence  of  God's  Spirit  and  the  hopeful  condi- 
tion of  the  work  generally. 

<'  I  have  been  out  among  the  Christians  all  the  month  and  am  glad 
to  say  that  I  found  them  all  well  and  growing  slowly  in  knowledge  and 
grace,  with  one  or  two  exceptions."  "We  met  with  discouragement, 
but  I  never  was  as  much  encouraged  in  the  work  as  now."  "There 
seems  to  be  a  steady  improvement  in  the  Christian  community  at  Sad- 
owal.  The  women  show  much  more  intelligence  with  regard  to  Bible 
knowledge  than  they  did  two  or  three  years  ago."  "  I  am  greatly  en- 
couraged in  regard  to  the  Christians  who  came  from  tlie  outcaste 
classes.     In  many  places  we  see  a  great  increase  in  knowledge,  a  very 

evident  strengthening  of  the  faith,  a 
greater  desire  for  holiness  of  life  and 
more  zeal  in  good  works."  Such  word 
often  has  come  to  us  in  reports  and 
private  letters  during  the  past  twelve 
years. 
^  The    recovery  of  Badoki    and    other 

=^      backsliding  congregations  is  also  very 
significant.     For  several  years  Badoki 
KHARGosH.  was   Considered   lost  and  doubts   were 

entertained  whether  it  had  ever  enjoyed 
the  presence  of  God's  Spirit.  But  in  1888  it  began  to  revive,  and 
in  1889  Miss  McCullough  writes  of  it,  "Badoki  has  given  us  more 
heartaches  than  any  other  village  of  the  District,  and  it  is  comforting 
now  to  see  signs  of  growth  in  grace."  And  afterwards  these  signs 
grew  stronger  and  stronger. 

Another  encouraging  evidence  that  God  has  been  with  us  is  the 
anxiety  which  our  people  have  had  for  tlie  salvation  of  their  friends  and 
neighbors,  and  their  zeal  in  trying  to  bring  them  into  the  Christian 
fold.  How  much  this  has  aided  our  evangelistic  work  has  already  been 
mentioned,*  and  further  reference  need  not  be  made  to  it  here,  except 
to  say  that  we  can  hardly  present  a  stronger  proof  that  Christ  has  been 
dwelling  in  the  hearts  of  his  professed  people. 

More  than  this,  the  testimony  of  Christian  workers,  both  native  and 
foreign,  as  to  the  character  of  individuals  with  whom  they  have  been 

*See  pp.  195,  196. 


TESTIMONY  REGARDING   INDIVIDUALS  255 

closely  associated,  as  also  in  regard  to  the  work  generally,  may  be  cited 
in  great  abundance  to  prove  the  claim  that  God's  Spirit  has  been  work- 
ing with  us. 

"  I  believe  Dina  Nath  to  be  a  true  Christian." 

"  How  well  Khaji  trains  up  her  children  !  " 

"  He  was  a  good  boy — remarkably  fond  of  his  Bible — devoted  to  his 
Master's  service." 

''Fazl  Din  says  he  is  often  deeply  moved  by  the  effects  of  preach- 
ing; and  his  throat  seems  to  fill  up  as  he  makes  this  statement." 

"  He  is  a  good  man  ;  I  just  love  him." 

**  It  made  our  hearts  rejoice  to  see  how  readily  he  accepted  Christ  as 
the  Son  of  God  and  his  only  Saviour." 

"  Tears  sometimes  come  into  the  eyes  of  Wadhawa's  wife  and  evi- 
dence of  deep  emotion  is  given  as  I  speak  to  her  of  Jesus,  his  death 
and  his  love." 

"  Shana,  my  chaukidar,  gives  three  annas  a  month  for  the  support 
of  the  church,  and  that,  too,  without  being  asked.  He  seeks  the 
treasurer." 

"The  man  named  Hukma  is  quite  grey-haired,  but  he  is  very 
earnest,  and  during  the  preaching,  when  it  was  said  that  the  world 
would  hate  and  persecute  them,  he  lauglied  right  out,  literally  fulfilling 
Christ's  command  (Matt.  5  :  12)  to  rejoice  and  be  exceeding  glad. 
Thus  we  see  that  the  leaven  is  working  and  the  Spirit  is  working,  too." 

"  Farman  Shah,  in  all  his  trouble,  has  never  faltered  in  his  allegiance 
to  Christ,  and  says  that  even  if  they  kill  him  he  will  not  give  Him  up." 

"  A  man  who  had  denied  his  Saviour  two  years  ago  was  received 
back,  and  this  time  his  wife  also  came  and  was  baptized.  At  the  close 
of  the  communion  service  I  took  him  by  the  hand,  saying,  'Hidayat 
Masih,  you  have  brought  reproach  upon  His  name  in  the  past ;  I  hope 
you  will  strive  all  the  more  to  honor  Him  in  the  future.'  To  this  he 
made  no  reply,  but  I  saw  the  tears  flowing  freely,  and  I  thought  of 
Peter,  who,  remembering  his  sin,  went  out  and  wept  bitterly." 

"Rahim  Bakhsh  grew  in  grace  and  less  worldly  towards  the  last,  and 
gave  evidence  of  genuine  religious  experience." 

"Two  members  have  died  during  the  year.  One  of  these  was  a 
student  of  theology — a  good,  promising  boy.  His  disease  was  con- 
sumption, and  in  all  his  sufferings  he  gave  evidence  of  earnest  faith  in 
Christ." 

"  From  the  time  of  Likar's  conversion  till  God  called  him  away,  his 


256  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

walk  and  conversation,  although  not  perfect,  were  such  as  marked  him 
as  one  destined  for  a  better  land." 

"  Kaka,  while  on  his  deathbed,  said,  'This  is  not  my  house;  I  am 
going  to  a  beautiful  home  ' — that  is,  where  Christ  lives.  Another  con- 
vert, Kanda  by  name,  having  been  attacked  by  pneumonia  and  being 
in  great  pain,  was  asked  if  he  was  afraid  to  die  ;  he  replied,  '  No  ;  why 
should  I  fear  when  Jesus  is  near  me.'  Seeing  his  relations  greatly 
worried  over  his  sickness,  he  requested  them  to  be  calm,  saying,  '  My 
faith  is  firm  in  Christ.'  " 

"  It  has  not  been  my  lot  here  to  visit  a  happier  family  or  one  where 
husband  and  wife  seemed  so  happy  in  each  otlier  and  so  mutually  de- 
voted to  the  work  of  Christ." 

"There  is  much  to  encourage.  Some  of  the  girls  give  unmistak- 
able evidence  of  Christian  development." 

"Incidents  are  becoming  much  more  frequent  which  show  that  the 
leaven  of  the  gospel  is  working  among  the  masses  and  among  all 
classes. ' ' 

"  On  the  whole,  work  is  encouraging  in  the  majority  of  the  vil- 
lages." 

"  There  are  some  who  I  trust  shall  shine  as  jewels  in  the  Saviour's 
crown.  I  well  recall  listening  to  an  old  man  as  he  recited  the  story  of 
the  sufferings  and  betrayal  of  our  Saviour.  Tears  came  to  my  eyes  and 
his  voice  broke  as  he  told  of  Peter's  denial  and  tliought  of  his  own  too 
frequent  denials  of  that  same  Master.  This  man  was  careful  to  instruct 
his  family  and  to  repeat  with  them,  each  day,  the  Lord's  Prayer." 

"  Some  said  of  their  persecutors,  '  They  may  drive  us  out  of  the  vil- 
lage, but  they  can't  drive  us  away  from  Christ.'  " 

"  While  the  village  men  are  talking  to  me  of  their  own  trials,  diffi- 
culties and  successes,  and  of  their  own  Christian  experience,  I  receive 
benefit  myself." 

"The  Christians  in  many  villages  show  an  interest  in  the  Word  of 
God  and  a  desire  to  receive  instruction.  While  still  ignorant,  some  at 
least  have  obtained  a  saving  knowledge  of  Christ." 

"The  progress  made  and  the  change  effected  are  simply  wonder- 
ful." 

"  What  would  have  seemed  a  miracle  to  the  missionaries  a  few  years 
ago  has  now  come  upon  us  so  gradually  that  we  scarcely  realize  what 
has  been  done  and  is  being  done  by  the  Spirit  of  God  here.  No 
earthquake;  no  noise  as  of  a  rushing  mighty  wind;  but  a  still,  small 


SUMMARY  OF   TESTIMOXIALS  257 

voice,  a  secret  working  of  the  leaven,  a  quiet  germination  and  growtli 
of  the  seed  sown.  Watered  by  the  gentle  dews  of  the  Spirit,  it  has 
sprung  up,  until  now  the  fields  seem  waving  with  ripening  grain." 

''  I  must  say  that  I  am  not  only  hopeful  but  confident  that  the  great 
majority  of  those  baptized  will  prove  themselves  to  be  living  stones  in 
the  temple  of  our  God,  provided  hard,  faithful,  patient  and  loving 
work  be  done  among  them." 

"The  solemn  conviction  forced  itself  upon  us  that  none  other  than 
the  Lord  Christ  Himself,  being  by  the  right  hand  of  God  exalted  and 
having  received  of  the  Father  the  promise  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  did  shed 
forth  this  which  we  saw  and  heard.  Overwhelmed  with  awe,  we  could 
but  exclaim,  '  The  Lord  hath  done  great  things  for  us,  whereof  we  are 
glad.'" 

These  testimonials  have  been  culled  at  random  from  letters,  reports 
and  other  documents  covering  almost  the  whole  period  which  has 
elapsed  since  1881  and  emanating  from  every  part  of  our  field.  They 
show  the  opinion  of  a  large  number  of  our  workers — foreigners  and 
natives,  men  and  women — in  regard  to  matters  coming  under  their 
immediate  observation,  written  mostly  at  the  time  when  their  impres- 
sions were  fresh  and  when  they  would  be  least  likely  to  be  mistaken. 
Nor  has  the  Mission  as  a  body  shrunk  from  officially  endorsing  their 
judgment.  Even  at  an  early  stage  of  the  work  she  declared  that  God 
had  "vouchsafed  a  manifest  blessing  upon  her  labors"  and  resolved 
to  recognize  this  fact  with  profound  gratitude  and  great  joy. 

How  any  one,  therefore,  can  deny  the  reality  of  a  great  work  of 
grace  among  us  is  a  mystery.  God's  Spirit  has  certainly  been  abroad 
"convincing  and  converting  sinners  and  building  them  up  in  holiness 
and  comfort,  through  faith,  unto  salvation."  Even  if  half  our  pro- 
fessing Christians  were  hypocrites,  this  would  still  be  true. 

As  a  further  proof  and  illustration,  however,  of  the  manner  in  v/hich 
Christ  has  been  manifestly  transforming  and  guiding  these  poor  people, 
I  take  the  liberty  of  condensing  and  appending  several  biographic  no- 
tices which  were  given  by  Miss  C.  E.  Wilson  in  the  Christian  In- 
stnicfor  oi  ]n\y  2T„  1891. 

"  Ameera,  a  low-caste  woman,  was  a  heathen  when  I  came  to  Guj- 
ranwala  in  1875;  but  within  two  years  this  unhappy,  grumbling  old 
creature  was  transformed  into  a  happy,  bright-faced  Christian  ;  and  she 
has  continued  so  to  this  day,  with  very  icw  slips  into  the  slough  of 
despond. 
17 


258  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

"  When  Miss  Calhoun  first  gave  her  the  gospel  message  she  tliought 
it  too  good  news  for  her,  and  said,  '  I  am  too  old  to  change  my  re- 
ligion now.'  But  in  the  course  of  time  she  accepted  Christ  and  was 
received  into  His  church  by  baptism.  Ever  after  her  dark,  wrinkled 
face  was  lit  up  with  joy  and  peace.  She  believed,  and  realized  the 
abiding  presence  of  the  Saviour,  and  has  often  strengthened  my  faith 
and  gratitude,  when  calling  upon  her  to  read  God's  Word  to  her  and 
pray  with  her.  She  was  always  so  grateful  for  the  least  kindness  shown 
her  and  constantly  thanking  and  praising  God  for  His  goodness.  I 
often  felt  that  she  was  outstripping  me  in  grace  and  faith.  She  had 
nothing  but  the  coarsest  food  and  clothing  and  her  surroundings  were 
bare  of  all  temporal  comfort  ;  and  her  happy,  contented  spirit  was  a 
constant  rebuke,  calling  up  Paul's  question,  '  Who  hath  made  thee  to 
differ?' 

"Of  late  years  she  expresses  herself  as  waiting  for  Jesus  to  call  her 
home,  and  often  longs  for  His  coming.  I  have  not  seen  her  lately,  but 
Mrs.  Murray  says  that  her  faith  is  firm  and  that  she  still  enjoys  hear- 
ing the  Word  of  God  and  engaging  in  the  exercise  of  prayer." 

"In  the  early  part  of  my  mission  life,  in  Ameera's  village  there  was 
a  young  school  girl,  named  Daulah.  She,  with  a  number  of  others, 
learned  to  read  the  gospel  and  accepted  its  teachings.  As  the  fruit  of 
Miss  Callioun's  labors,  she  and  several  of  her  companions  were  received 
into  the  church  ;  and  she  was  shortly  after  married  to  a  young  Chris- 
tian, named  Nanak,  and  tlie  two  served  us  faithfully  as  house  servants 
for  several  years.  When  Miss  McCullough  went  home  on  a  furlough, 
they  were  sent  to  live  in  a  village  and  work  as  catechists.  She  became 
the  mother  of  six  children.  The  last  one  came  during  the  dreadful 
fever  epidemic  in  the  Gujranwala  District  and  she  and  her  babe,  and 
another  child,  succumbed  to  it. 

"  She  was  a  good  wife  and  mother,  and  a  beautiful,  little,  black-eyed 
woman.  Though  not  a  woman  of  marked  piety,  she  was  a  steadfast 
Christian  and  died  a  hopeful  Christian  death.  Those  who  were  at  her 
bedside  say  that  she  repeated  nearly  one-half  of  the  first  chapter  of 
John  and  the  twenty-third  Psalm  and  said  a  great  many  things  about 
Christ.  Mrs.  Murray,  who  was  with  her  and  prayed  with  her,  bears 
testimony  to  her  joyful  death." 

"  Chhero  was  one  of  two  Christian  young  men  of  the  Gurdaspur 
District  whom  we  employed  last  summer  to  pull  pankhas  for  us.  He 
was  quite  blind.     We  became  acquainted  with  him  about  three  years 


CHHERO,    THE   BLIND    COOLY  259 

ago,  on  our  first  itinerating  tour  through  this  District.  His  mother 
brought  him  to  us  and  plead  with  us  to  try  and  save  his  eyes,  lest  he 
should  go  blind.  We  gave  him  medicine  and  all  was  done  to  save 
them  that  could  be  done,  but  the  white  scum  continued  to  grow,  and 
soon  the  light  of  this  world  was  quite  shut  out  from  him.  He  had 
learned  to  read  a  little  before  his  eyesight  gave  way.  He  had  a  reten- 
tive memory  and  a  tolerably  bright  mind,  and  gave  good  heed  to  the 
Word  of  God  read  in  his  hearing,  and  committed  to  memory  six  chap- 
ters of  Matthew  and  the  whole  of  a  little  catechism  on  the  Bible.  By 
this  means  he  got  a  good  knowledge  of  Scripture  history  and  seemed 
to  know  it  all  by  heart.  During  the  two  months  and  a  half  that  he 
was  with  us  we  also  gave  him  additional  lessons  with  the  view  of  mak- 
ing him  a  teacher  of  more  ignorant  people.  He  was  so  cheerful,  kind 
and  willing,  too,  that  we  all  learned  to  love  him  and  were  sorry  when 
vacation  time  came,  and  he  had  to  go  home. 

"But  he  soon  took  the  fever  and,  after  an  illness  of  eight  days, 
called  his  mother  and  said,  '  God  is  calling  me.  I  want  to  give  some- 
thing in  His  name  before  I  go.'  She  had  nothing  in  the  hou.se  but 
some  crude  sugar,  about  ten  cents'  worth,  and  she  called  her  neighbors 
and  distributed  that  among  them  in  his  behalf.  The  mother  wept  and 
said,  'O  son,  how  can  I  spare  you?'  He  replied,  'This  little 
brother,  Yusif,  in  your  lap,  will  take  my  place  and  comfort  you.'  He 
then  asked  if  it  was  ten  o'clock.  When  told  that  it  was  about  that 
time  (for  they  had  no  timepiece),  he  said,  '  I  am  going  to  God  ;  salam 
to  you  ;  this  is  the  time  he  told  me  I  was  to  go ;  '  and  then  he  quietly 
passed  away. 

"  His  friends  and  neighbors,  and  we  all,  felt  sorry  when  we  heard 
of  his  death  ;  yet  we  rejoice  in  the  good  evidence  we  had  that  he  was  a 
true  child  of  Jesus.  Nothing  pleased  him  more  than  to  recite  or  hear 
His  word  and  sing  His  praise,  and  his  prayers  were  full  of  simple  faith 
and  trust.  On  one  occasion  he  greatly  touched  our  hearts  by  the 
grateful  manner  in  which  he  thanked  God  for  all  the  kindness  of  the 
missionaries  who  had  come  so  far  to  teach  them,  and  by  the  manner 
in  which  he  also  said,  'I  thank  Thee,  Heavenly  Father,  that,  though 
Thou  hast  seen  fit  to  deprive  me  of  bodily  sight,  yet  Thou  hast  given  me 
spiritual  sight  and  fixed  Thy  truth  in  my  heart.'  He  did  not  give  up 
hope  of  bodily  sight  being  restored  until  Dr.  Johnson  examined  his 
eyes  last  summer  and  solemnly  told  him  there  was  no  hope.  The 
ringing,  hearty  answer,  '  All  right !  '  brought  tears  to  the  eyes  of  those 


260 


LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 


who  heard  it.     His  mother  still  grieves  for  such  a  loving  son  ;  but  we 
tell  her  not  to  weep  for  him,  but  to  prepare  to  meet  him  in  heaven." 

Such  are  a  few  examples  of  the  grace  of  God  as  it  is  displayed  in  the 
redemption  of  the  Chuhras — the  most  despised  of  the  low-caste  peo- 
ple— and  a  partial  proof  of  the  fact  that  our  labor  has  not  been  in  vain 
in  the  Lord. 


CARING    FOR    HER    YOUNG. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 
LOWER  TRAINING  OF  CHRISTIANS 

Stages  of  Missionary  Work — Training  of  Christians  in  a  Compound — In  a  Village — 
The  Underworker — Village  Life — Primary  Duties — Worship  Described — Sing- 
ing, Prayer,  Sacraments — The  Sabbaili  School — Secular  Schools — Their  Draw- 
backs—Teaching Urdu — Central  Schools  and  Inspectors — Panc/inyats — Sub- 
superintendence — The  Missionary's  Work — Monthly  Meetings — Methods  Auto- 
cratic— Melas — Christian  Villages  or  Settlements — Hindrances  to  Primary 
Training — The  Result. 

HE  second  great  part  of  a  missionary's  task,  as  we  have  al- 
ready seen,*  is  the  establishment  of  a  self-supporting,  self- 
propagating  chmxh.  And  this  part  comprehends  two  main 
subdivisions — first,  the  training  of  Christian  converts;  and 
secondly,  ecclesiastical  organization  proper  and  church  development. 
Together  with  evangelism,  these  constitute  an  ascending  series  in  the 
I  scale  of  missionary  duties.  First  the  materials  for  a  church  must  be 
collected.  This  is  the  work  of  evangelism.  Then  these  materials  must 
be  trimmed  and  polished.  This  is  the  work  of  Christian  training. 
Then,  having  been  prepared,  they  must  be  built  up  into  a  living  temple. 
This  is  the  work  of  church  edification. 

Not  that  these  various  branches  of  labor  are  so  essentially  distinct 
that  they  cannot  be  carried  on  simultaneously  or  that  they  cannot  co- 
operate with  one  another.  An  ideal  condition  of  things  means  the 
very  opposite.     It  exhibits  a  work  of  Christian   training  which  also 

*  See  pp.  148,  149. 

(261) 


262  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

reaches  out  after  the  conversion  of  sinners,  and  shows  a  developinc^ 
church  which  assumes  more  and  more  the  edification  of  its  own  mem- 
bers and  the  evangelization  of  the  people  around  it.  The  three  proc- 
esses should  overlap  and  interpenetrate  one  another;  and  this  to  some 
extent  has  been  realized  in  our  own  case.  But,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
this  ideal  is  seldom  fully  attained  ;  and  in  giving  a  description  of  the 
progress  of  our  efforts,  it  is  convenient  to  make  the  distinction 
specified. 

The  work  of  training  converts  contemplates  their  advancement  in 
everything  which  helps  to  make  them  intelligent,  steadfast,  active  and 
useful  Christians — that  is,  in  religious  knowledge,  good  habits,  pure 
morals,  spiritual  desires  and  holy  zeal.  It  really  begins  before  their 
baptism  as  a  preparation  for  the  reception  of  that  sacred  rite  ;  and 
some  of  our  workers  are  disposed  to  prolong  this  period  of  preparation, 
partly  as  a  test  of  the  sincerity  of  the  candidates,  and  partly  be-cause, 
in  some  instances,  converts  show  more  desire  for  improvement  before 
they  are  baptized  than  afterwards.  But  the  general  rule  is  to  baptize 
applicants  as  soon  as  they  make  a  credible  profession  of  faith  and  leave 
the  chief  work  of  training  to  be  done  subsequently — as  appears  to  be 
directed  in  Matt.  28  :  19,  20. 

In  the  case  of  high-caste  converts  and  Muhammadans,  almost  all  of 
whom  are  compelled  to  leave  home  as  soon  as  they  forsake  their  old 
religion,  this  training  is  usually  done  at,  or  near,  the  Christian  laborer's 
own  residence — that  is,  in  a  Mission  compound.  Here  they  are  brought 
under  gospel  influence,  day  by  day,  and  gradually  led  into  all  truth 
and  duty. 

But  the  great  body  of  our  people,  as  already  stated,  are  of  low-caste 
origin  and  can  stay  without  great  difficulty  in  their  own  houses  and 
among  their  own  kindred;  and  often  whole  families  of  this  class,  and 
even  whole  connections,  are  baptized  at  the  same  time. 

Supposing  then  that  a  number  of  persons  in  a  village,  or  in  several 
neighboring  villages,  have  passed  the  initial  stage  of  formal  admission 
to  clujrch  membership,  the  first  thing  usually  done  afterward  is  to  put 
a  Christian  helper  there  to  act  as  an  underworker.  He  goes  from  house 
to  house,  gets  acquainted  with  the  peculiarities  of  each  individual,  cor- 
rects any  wrong  impressions  which  the  people  may  have  had  respecting 
Christianity,  confirms  their  opposition  to  the  false  religion  which  they 
have  abandoned,  teaches  them  as  fast  as  he  can  passages  of  Scripture, 
a  Bible  Catechism,  the  Ten  Commandments,  the  Lord's  Prayer'  and 


CHUHRA    QUARTER    OF  A    VILLAGE 


263 


^i^mf 


the  fundamental  principles  of  our  holy  faith,  urges  them  to  abandon 
every  form  of  sin,  and  exhorts  them  to  commence  family  and  secret 
prayer.  He  also  meets  with  them  as  often  as  he  can — perhaps  every 
day — for  public  worship,  and  on  the  Sabbath  is  expected,  not  only  to 
conduct  a  regular  religious  service  and  preach,  but  also  to  hold  a  Sab- 
bath School  and  catechetically  instruct  all,  old  and  young,  in  regard 
to  divine  things. 

Sometimes,  too,  one  of  the  more  intelligent  of  the  members  is 
deputed  to  act  as  his  assistant  and  helps  to  keep  his  neighbors  up  to 
the  right  mark ;  while  in  due  season  a  school  teacher  is  also  added. 

It  is  hard  for  one  who  has  not  actually  seen  the  village  life  of 
Chuhras  in  India  to  imagine  the  humble  and  peculiar  circumstances 
under  which  this  work  is  done. 

Remember  that  the  Chuhra  quarter  is  on  the  outskirts  of  the  village 
proper,  facing  the  open  country  (which 
is  not  remarkable  for  its  sweet  smells  *)  — ^    - 

and  often  near  scooped-out,  artificial 
ponds  of  dirty  water,  called  chhappars, 
which  serve  for  washing  and  bathing 
and  (in  extreme  cases)  drinking  pur- 
poses, as  well  as  for  the  refresliment  of 
buffaloes  and  other  domestic  animals. f 
Remember  that  the  village  streets  are 
narrow  and  filthy,  often  only   three   or  hyena. 

four  feet  wide — that  the  houses  are  all 

built  of  mud  and  consist  each  of  only  a  room  or  two,  facing  a  small 
court  which  is  surrounded  by  a  mud  wall — that  the  furniture  of  the  poor 
people  comprises  simply  one  or  two  charpais,  a  spinning-wheel,  some 
cooking  utensils  and  a  few  other  articles — that  the  dusky  children  of 
the  place  go  about  without  much  if  any  clothing  on,  and  that  generally 
the  men  and  sometimes  the  women,  appear  in  such  soiled  and  scanty 
attire  that  they  would  be  arrested  as  public  nuisances  in  any  American 
town.  Remember,  too,  that  the  men  are  generally  absent  in  daylight 
at  their  field  work ;  that  all,  old  and  young,  are  at  the  outset  perfectly 

*  Fields  adjacent  to  an  Indian  town  are  always  covered  with  the  remains  of  dead 
animals,  deposits  of  human  filth,  and  rubbish  of  every  description,  while  scavenger 
birds  and  animals  are  often  present,  busy  at  their  gluttonous  and  nasty,  but  highly 
necessary,  work. 

^  See  illustration  on  p.  184. 


2G4  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

illiterate  and  that  at  first  there  is  no  public  meeting-place,  except  an  open 
common,  where  a  person  can  collect  the  people  to  give  them  an  address. 

Under  such  circumstances,  the  Christian  worker  who  has  taken  up 
his  abode  among  them,  or  perhaps  hired  a  house  in  some  more  desir- 
able quarter,  begins  his  labors.  One  by  one  the  people  are  taught  a 
little  of  God's  Word  and  introduced  into  the  outskirts  of  the  great 
temple  of  divine  truth.  Wherever  he  can  get  an  oj)portunity  two  or 
three  persons  are,  for  a  few  minutes,  formed  by  him  into  a  class  to 
learn  passages  of  Scripture  and  questions  in  the  catechism — women  and 
children  by  day,  and  men  at  night — and  at  set  periods,  especially  on 
the  Sabbath,  as  many  as  possible  are  assembled  on  the  common,  or  in 
a  private  court,  to  engage  in  more  formal  worship.  His  work  is  em- 
phatically "  precept  upon  precept,  precept  upon  precept,  line  upon 
line,  line  upon  line;  here  a  little  and  there  a  little." 

In  the  course  of  time,  perhaps,  a  small  mud  building  is  erected  on 
the  common,  or  a  purchased  lot — the  people  themselves  putting  up  the 
walls  and  the  Mission  bearing  the  expense  of  the  woodwork — and  here 
the  worker  and  the  teacher  can  carry  on  their  labors  more  conven- 
iently. Possibly,  too,  after  a  while,  a  few  benches,  a  chair  and  a  desk 
are  put  into  this  building  ;  and  even  a  second  room  may  be  added, 
which  can  be  occupied  as  a  rest-house  by  the  missionaries,  and  others, 
when  they  visit  that  part  of  the  country  on  a  tour  of  duty.  For  the 
Christian  laborer  himself  also  a  permanent  home  is  sometimes  pro- 
vided.    Thus  the  work  advances  step  by  step. 

Orientals  (men)  in  company  usually  sit  with  their  turbans  on,  and 
would  feel  very  much  ashamed  to  do  otherwise  ;  but  this  custom  has 
been  abandoned  by  India  Christians  in  public  worship,  out  of  defer- 
ence, no  doubt,  to  Western  ideas.  If  a  member  of  the  audience  does 
not  take  off  his  turban  we  may  be  perfectly  sure  that  he  has  never  been 
baptized.  A  similar  influence  is  at  work  on  the  Eastern  practice  of 
removing  shoes  {Julian,  slippers,  sandals)  when  people  enter  a  house, 
and  especially  a  house  of  worship.  Formerly  our  people  universally 
observed  this  custom  and  left  their  shoes  at  the  entrance  of  the  room 
where  there  was  a  religious  service,  considering  it  "holy  ground." 
But  latterly  tliere  has  been  a  change  in  many  places  in  regard  to  this 
matter,  especially  in  the  more  "advanced"  congregations.  Village 
Christians,  however,  often  retain  the  primitive  practice. 

The  forms  and  exercises  of  worship  adopted  in  our  work  are  essen- 
tially those  which  prevail  among  Presbyterians  everywhere.     They  in- 


OUR   FORMS   01'    WORSHIP   DKSCRIIiKD  205 

elude  prayer,  praise,  Scripture  readin<3^,  preaching,  niulual  exhortation, 
giving,  and  at  limes  the  sacraments  of  the  New  Testament — Baptism 
and  the  Lord's  Sup[)er;  but  these  exercises  are,  of  course,  varied  in 
number,  length  and  character  by  circumstances. 

Our  "  praise  "  consists  in  the  singing  of  Psalms — some  of  which  are 
in  Western  meter  and  set  to  Wcstrrn  music,  and  sonir  in  Oriental 
meter  and  set  to  Oriental  nuisic.  'I'he  latter,  wliich  arc  (ailed  bliajaiis, 
are  very  [)opular,  especially  in  country  places;  but  the  inrmer  are  used 
more  in  cities  and  old  congregations.  Our  bJuiJans  arc  in  the  Punjabi 
tongue;  our  Western  meter  versions  in  Urdu.  Sometimes  pco[)le  rise 
and  stand  during  the  exercise  of  singir.g  and  sometimes  they  sit. 

The  Scripture  reading  embraced  in  a  regular  religious  service  is 
usually  performed  by  the  leader,  as  it  is  at  home.  Preaching  is  also 
the  work  of  the  leader,  except  in  prayer  meetings  and  other  confer- 
ences, when  an  opportunity  is  given  for  remarks  by  any  member  of  the 
audience;  but  in  promiscuous  assemblies  men  alone  have  thus  far 
availed  them.selves  of  this  privilege.  Sermons  are  almost  universally 
s])oken  (not  read)  and  are  addressed  to  hearers  as  directly  and  forcibly 
as  possible.  As  a  general  thing,  too,  they  are  less  elaborate  and  formal 
than  the  sermons  in  America;  nor  has  any  standard  of  length  become 
fixed. 

Prayer,  except  when  the  Lord's  prayer  may  be  repeated  in  concert, 
is  always  free  and  extemi)oraneous  ;  and,  when  finished,  it  is  often  at- 
tested and  strengthened  by  a  sincere  and  general,  but  somewhat  sup- 
pressed, cry  of  "  Amen."  No  attiiude  in  this  exercise  has  yet  become 
universal.  Perliaps  partial  prostration — that  is,  kneeling  with  the  fore- 
head touching,  or  almost  touching,  the  door — is  as  common  as  any 
other.  It  suits  village  people  very  well,  as  during  worship  they  gener- 
ally sit  on  the  llocjr  anyhow;  and  besides  it  acc(jrds  with  boih  Hindu 
and  Muhammadan  customs.  \\\  older  congregations  and  larger  i)laces 
seats  are  often  ])rovided  for  adults,  especially  the  men,  and  sometimes 
for  the  whole  audience.  Under  such  circumstances  standing  is  a  com- 
mon attitutle  in  prayer.  This  is  the  form  adopted  in  the  Sialkot 
church.  But  kneeling,  either  with  the  face  towards  the  rear  of  the 
church  (Methodistic  style),  or  with  the  face  towards  the  pulpit  (Epis- 
copalian style),  prevails  in  some  congregations;  and  sometimes,  ac- 
cording to  Western  fashion,  people  sit  and  pray  (if  they  pray  at  all) 
with,  or  without,  their  heads  resting  on  the  i)ews  before  them.  Oc- 
casionally I  have  seen  almost  all  of  these  attitudes  assumed  by  different 


266  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

individuals  in  the  same  congregation  during  the  same  exercise.  The 
habit  of  offering  up  a  silent  prayer  at  the  beginning,  and  again  at  the 
close,  of  a  religious  service  seems  to  be  universal  among  our  people  and 
comes  to  us  apparently  from  British  sources.  As  soon  as  a  worshiper 
takes  his  place  in  the  meeting  he  looks  up  to  God  for  a  blessing  upon 
the  exercises  before  him ;  and  again,  after  the  benediction  is  pro- 
nounced, he  sits  for  a  minute  or  two  and  secretly  pours  out  his  lieart 
to  Heaven  in  thanksgiving  and  petition.  People  never  rush  out  of 
church  immediately  after  the  preacher's  voice  ceases  to  be  heard.  It 
would  be  thougln  very  rude  and  irreverent  for  any  one  to  do  so. 

Little  peculiarity  may  be  observed  in  the  method  of  administering 
the  sacraments  of  the  church.  Previous  to  the  celebration  of  the 
Lord's  Supper  one  or  more  preparatory  services  are  usually  held,  and 
for  some  days  or  weeks  beforehand  the  minds  of  intending  communi- 
cants are  turned  towards  this  solemn  ordinance.  Common  native 
bread,  which  is  unleavened,  and  the  juice  of  the  grape,  as  extracted 
from  raisins,*  often  furnish  the  emblems  which  are  used  in  the  sacra- 
ment itself,  and  of  these  the  members  partake  as  they  sit  in  their 
places,  separate  from  others,  and  receive  them  from  the  officers  of  the 
church. 

Fasting,  as  a  religious  exercise,  has  occasionally  (but  rarely)  been 
appointed,  either  to  prepare  people  for  the  observance  of  the  Lord's 
Supper,  or,  in  times  of  declension  and  providential  distress,  to  secure 
the  return  of  God's  blessing;  and  sometimes,  too,  with  manifestly 
happy  results.  This  exercise  is  not  only  Biblical  in  its  character  but 
it  is  also  familiar  to  Eastern  people,  especially  Muhammadans,  and  its 
introduction  into  our  usages  seems  perfectly  natural. 

It  has  been  stated  that  a  local  worker  is  expected  to  carry  on  a  Sab- 
bath School  among  the  people  of  his  neighborhood.  Sabbath  Schools, 
indeed,  have  for  thirty  years  or  more  been  a  special  feature  of  our 
work  of  religious  training.  According  to  the  Statistical  Tables  of 
1890,  we  had  within  our  bounds  90  of  the  116  Sabbath  Schools  es- 
tablislied  in  the  Punjab  and  2959  of  the  4331  pupils.  At  the  close  of 
1893  ^s  reported  131  Sabbath  Schools  and  3162  scholars,  and  at  the 
close  of  1894,  99  Sabbath  Schools  and  2474  scholars.  In  large  places, 
where  secular  education  is  more  advanced  and  many  teachers  can  be 
had,  Sabbath  Schools  are  conducted  after  Western  models  and  some- 

*  Common  wine,  whether  fermented  or  unfermented,  is  an  expensive  article  in 
India — too  expensive  for  ordinary  congregations. 


SABBATH  SCHOOLS  AND   DAY  SCHOOLS  267 

times  the  Inlcnialional  Series  of  Sabbath-School  Lessons  is  used. 
The  Rev.  T.  L.  Scott  for  several  years  published  tliese  lessons  with 
the  sanction  of  Presbytery  ;  and  recently  an  effort  of  a  more  ambitious 
character  to  provide  helps  was  made  by  a  regularly  appointed  commit- 
tee, though  this  effort  was  not  continued  very  long.  But  the  helps 
prepared  by  neighboring  Missions  have  also  been  used  in  some  places. 
In  villages  the  local  Christian  worker  has  been  the  chief,  and  some- 
times the  only,  instructor;  and,  as  many  scholars  are  not  able  to 
read,  much  has  depended  upon  his  oral  communications  and  his  faith- 
fulness in  catechetical  drill.  Our  Sabbath  Schools  are  composed 
•mostly  of"  Christians  and  the  members  of  Christian  families;  but,  in 
cities  especially,  they  are  attended  frequently  by  non-Christian 
scholars,  and  some  of  them  may  be  classed  as  altogether  missionary  in 
their  character.  It  may  also  be  remarked  here  that,  as  a  means  of 
mutual  assistance,  we  joined  with  others,  December  lo  and  ii,  1890, 
in  forming  a  Punjab  Auxiliary  to  the  Indian  S.-S.  Union. 

The  establishment  of  secular  schools  as  an  aid  in  our  village  work 
seems  to  be  absolutely  necessary.  Our  Christian  converts  in  outlying 
points  are  usually  without  any  education  whatever,  nor  are  they  able 
to  get  any  without  our  assistance.  It  becomes  our  duty,  therefore,  to 
teach  them  at  least  to  read  the  Bible. 

Of  village  Primary  Schools  we  have  about  120  within  the  bounds  of 
our  field,  with  an  aggregate  of  4500  scholars.  The  curriculum  of  study 
followed  in  them  is  that  which  has  been  adopted  by  the  government, 
extends  over  a  three  years'  course  and,  when  successfully  pursued, 
qualifies  the  pupil  for  admission  into  an  Upper  Primary  School,  should 
he  have  an  0])portunity  of  attending  one.  Religious  instruction  is  also 
given  regularly  and  all  available  means  are  used  to  make  the  schools 
subservient  to  their  great  end — the  moral  and  spiritual  elevation  of  the 
Christian  community.  And,  that  they  may  become  something  of  an 
evangelistic  power,  children  of  other  religions  also  are  often  admitted 
as  jMipils.  It  has  not  been  a  very  rare  thing  to  see  Hindus,  Sikhs, 
Muhammadans,  Chuhras  and  Christians  all  sitting  side  by  side,  read- 
ing Urdu  or  listening  to  a  gosj^jcl  story. 

But  there  are  some  drawbacks  to  this  branch  of  work. 

One  is  the  lack  of  good  school-houses.  In  many  cases,  indeed, 
there  are  no  school-houses  at  all.  The  pupils  are  taught  under  a  tree 
or  beside  a  mud  wall,  or  on  the  open  common,  or  in  a  private  house. 

Another  is  the  lack  of  Christian  teachers.     The  demand  for  edu- 


268  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

cated  Christians  in  purely  evangelistic  labor  is  so  great  that  few  are 
left  for  the  work  of  secular  instruction,  and  these  few  must  receive 
comparatively  high  wages.  Hence  we  have  been  compelled  to  em- 
ploy many  non-Christian  teachers — teachers  who  are  not  only  unable 
to  give  religious  instruction,  but  whose  example,  at  least,  is  against  us. 
Some  of  these  teachers,  indeed,  by  favoring  pupils  of  their  own  faith, 
neglecting  Christian  children,  and  following  other  devices,  have  done 
what  they  could  in  a  covert  manner  to  defeat  the  great  object  which 
we  have  in  view. 

Another  drawback  is  the  necessity  of  not  only  teaching  Urdu,  but  of 
teaching  it  (and  other  branches)  in  the  Urdu  tongue,which  to  most  of  the 
scholars  is  almost  a  foreign  language.  The  authorities  of  the  Province 
exalt  Urdu  at  the  expense  of  Punjabi  and  make  the  former  the  chief 
vehicle  of  education,  native  literature  and  civil  administration. 
Hence  the  latter  is  not  recognized  in  any  authorized  course  of  study 
except  that  appointed  for  zamindari  schools  ;  *  and  zaviindari  schools 
do  not  suit  us,  because  we  want  our  primary  institutions  to  be  prepara- 
tory to  those  that  are  higher. 

Urdu,  or  Hindustani  as  it  is  often  called,  must  therefore  be  made 
as  familiar  to  our  pupils  as  their  village  dialect ;  and  their  effort  to  ac- 
quire it,  and  through  it  to  acquire  also  all  the  other  branches  embraced 
in  our  school  curriculum,  becomes,  as  every  one  can  easily  see,  a  great 
task. 

And  then  the  character  adopted  in  teaching  them  Urdu  is  so  hard 
to  learn.  Hindustani  may  be  written  or  printed  in  one  of  three  char- 
acters— the  Persian,  the  Arabic,  or  the  Roman.  The  Persian  is  simply 
the  Arabic  in  a  running  hand,  called  Nastaliq.  Both  therefore  give 
different  forms  of  letters  for  the  beginning,  the  middle  and  the  end  of 
words,  while  vowels  for  the  most  part  must  be  guessed  at.  In  Hindu- 
stani, too,  three  letters  are  added  which  are  not  found  in  the  Persian 
tongue  and  seven  not  found  in  the  Arabic.  Persian  Urdu,  moreover, 
cannot  be  printed  from  regular  type,  and,  being  lithographed,  partakes 
constantly  of  the  variations  which  characterize  handwriting.  In  cor- 
respondence, too,  it  is  often  written  in  a  broken  shorthand,  called  Shi- 
kasta.  All  these  forms  which  must  become  familiar  to  the  pupil, 
make  the  Arabic,  and  especially  the  Persian,  character  difficult  to 
learn.  Roman  Urdu  is  the  easiest  of  all,  even  to  a  native.  An  expe- 
rienced missionary  says,  "  The  time  occupied  in  teaching  an  average 
*  Farmers'  Schools;  see  p.  165. 


10^1:^6^ 


^A\ 


ililliiWtlfili  H^uU-^-*''  '//ii*^ 


(269) 


270  LIFE   AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

child  to  read  the  Roman  character  would  be  about  a  month,  whereas 
the  Persian  character,  under  the  same  conditions,  needs  a  year."  Ro- 
man Urdu  presents  only  about  one-third  as  many  forms  as  either  of 
the  other  characters;  while  vowels,  as  well  as  consonants,  are  repre- 
sented. Being  printed  with  type,  too,  it  is  more  uniform  in  its  appear- 
ance than  the  Persian  lithographed  Arabic,  and  in  writing  it  is  seldom  ab- 
breviated. More  than  this,  it  is  less  trying  to  the  eyes  and  more  legible. 
Yet  the  hardest  of  these  characters  for  a  learner  (namely  the  Persian)  is 
the  one  which  is  retained  in  the  Punjab  school  system,  as  it  is  also  in  the 
civil  service.  This  is  due  to  the  prestige  given  it  under  the  Mu- 
hammadan  rule,  to  the  cheapness  with  which  it  can  be  printed,  and  to 
the  fact  that  the  great  mass  of  Urdu  literature  is  found  in  this  charac- 
ter. Many  India  missionaries,  especially  those  who  are  located  in 
Oude  and  the  Northwest  Provinces,  would  like  to  substitute  the  Ro- 
man for  the  Persian  in  their  educational  work,  not  only  because  it  is 
easier,  but  because  the  knowledge  of  Roman  alone  would  cut  off  the 
followers  of  Christ  and  many  others  from  the  corrupting  influence  of 
native  writings — hardly  anything  but  that  which  is  distinctively  Chris- 
tian being  printed  in  Roman  Urdu.  But  the  tide  of  sentiment  and 
power  is  against  them,  and  as  years  roll  on  the  difficulty  of  making 
any  change  becomes  greater  and  greater. 

Otiier  obstructions  to  the  rapid  and  successful  advancement  of 
pupils  in  village  schools  up  to  the  required  standard  are  found  in  the 
age  and  the  intellectual  weakness  of  some  of  them,  and  in  the  irregu- 
larity of  their  attendance  upon  the  instruction  of  their  teacher. 

To  remedy  these  various  drawbacks,  several  expedients  have  been 
tried.  One  is  the  establishment  of  a  Central  School  in  every  Mission 
District,  where,  under  the  immediate  eye  of  the  Superintendent  and 
the  teaching  of  a  superior  instructor,  scholars  nearing  the  close  of 
the  Lower  Primary  course  might  be  taken  for  a  time  and  receive  special 
attention.  Another  is  the  a])pointment  of  a  faithful,  qualified  inspec- 
tor for  the  Mission  District  whose  duty  it  is  to  visit  the  schools  fre- 
quently and  keep  them  up  to  the  required  mark.  Help  has  also  been 
derived  from  submission  to  the  examination  of  a  local  government  in- 
spector, from  whom  official  certificates  can  be  had  at  the  end  of  the 
third  year.  This  has  a  specially  stimulating  effect  on  teacher  and 
scholars,  and,  besides,  lays  the  foundation  for  a  grant-in-aid  from  public 
funds  ;  but,  of  course,  whatever  objections  may  be  urged  against  gov- 
ernment help  in  other  cases  may  also  be  urged  against  it  in  this  case. 


PANCHA  YA  TS  271 

Of  other  local  agencies  established  for  the  improvement  of  the  }^qq- 
■^Xq,  patichayats  and  zenana  missionary  societies  may  be  mentioned. 

The  latter  are  few  in  number  and  have  not  yet  developed  into  a 
force  of  any  great  power;  but  they  are  progressing  and  will  eventually, 
no  doubt,  be  very  helpful  to  the  female  members  of  the  church.* 

Panchayats\  are  local  ruling  committees,  composed  of  the  heads  of 
the  people,  in  imitation  of  similar  bodies  among  the  Hindus.  They 
were  sanctioned  by  the  Mission  in  1891,  with  the  design  of  aiding  dis- 
cipline and  training  men  for  the  eldership,  and  are  found  in  some 
parts  of  our  field.  Their  work  is  to  watch  over  their  respective  Chris- 
tian communities  and  exercise  a  sort  of  civil  as  well  as  ecclesiastical 
control  among  them — trying  cases  of  wrong  doing  and  imposing  fines 
or  other  penalties,  according  to  their  judgment  of  what  would  be  right. 

Some  doubt  the  expediency  of  this  arrangement.  They  dislike  its 
encroachment  upon  the  functions  of  both  the  State  and  the  Church, 
and  its  confusion  of  the  temporal  and  the  spiritual  penalties  which 
these  authorities  respectively  impose.  They  fear,  too,  that  it  may 
lead  to  the  assumption  by  2^  panchayat  oi  the  powers  of  a  Session  and 
to  its  virtual,  if  not  actual,  determination  of  the  question,  Who  have 
a  right  to  participate  in  the  sealing  ordinances  of  the  church?  They 
fear  also  that,  by  thus  establishing  a  substitute  for  the  Session,  the 
work  of  regular  church  organization  will  be  postponed  instead  of 
hastened.  Better  in  their  opinion  ordain  elders  and  form  Sessions  as 
soon  as  possible  for  purposes  of  ecclesiastical  government  (as  the 
Apostle  Paul  did)  and  not  foist  upon  our  people  a  Hindu  device,  in- 
volving similar  power  and  requiring  apparently  similar  qualifications. 
However  this  may  be,  panchayais  axt  an  established  fact,  and  their  aim 
at  least  is  to  help  forward  the  work  of  Christian  training. 

Of  course  where  congregations  are  regularly  organized  a  readjust- 
ment of  the  various  local  agencies  employed  in  the  edification  of 
Christians  takes  place.  Instead  of  the  local  mission  agent  comes  the 
pastor,  or  the  stated  supply,  and  instead  of  \.\\q panchayat  the  divinely 
authorized  church  court.  The  Sabbath  School  and  the  missionary  so- 
ciety also  become  arms  of  the  church  proper,  and  even  the  parish 
school  may  be  subjected  to  pastoral  oversight. 

As  a  sub-superintendent,  too,  the  ordained  minister,  whether  settled 

*  See  pp.  129-132. 

f  Courts  of  five  or  more — from  the  word  pattck,  which  means  five.  (Pronounced 
punch-i-ut.') 


272  LIFE  AND  WORK  IN  INDIA 

or  not,  may  be  made  responsible  for  work  in  a  large  number  of  un- 
organized centers  surrounding  his  place  of  residence.  These  it  be- 
comes his  duty  to  visit  as  often  as  possible;  and  over  all  the  inferior 
agents  and  agencies  located  there  he  is  expected  to  exercise  a  certain 
amount  of  authority.  He  is  also  required  to  preach  as  often  as  pos- 
sible in  every  part  of  his  little  "diocese,"  examine  candidates  for  ad- 
mission to  the  church  and,  whenever  he  thinks  proper,  administer  the 
ordinance  of  baptism.  Where  an  ordained  minister  is  not  available, 
this  work  of  sub-superintendence  is  often  performed  by  a  licentiate,  or 
a  high-class  catechist — but,  of  course,  without  the  liberty  of  baptizing 
converts. 

It  should  be  noted  here,  too,  that,  although  our  Christian  women 
are  largely  accessible  to  men  in  their  work  of  Christian  instruction, 
sometimes  female  agents  also  are  employed  locally  as  zenana  workers 
and  Bible  readers,  and  that  they  do  much  among  their  own  sex  in  the 
different  villages,  and  circles  of  villages,  to  supplement  the  labors  of 
male  Christian  agents. 

Finally,  over  and  above  all  these  influences,  comes  the  work  of  the 
superintendent  (who  is  generally  a  missionary),  of  the  foreign  ladies, 
and  of  those  native  helpers  who  may  be  attached,  temporarily  or 
otherwise,  to  their  general  staff. 

These  may  take  a  run  out  from  the  headquarters  of  the  Mission  Dis- 
trict to  some  part  of  their  field,  and  spend  a  short  time  there,  or  they 
may  make  a  regular  tour,  as  we  have  already  indicated,  in  describing 
evangelistic  operations  ;  *  and,  wherever  they  go,  they  will,  generally 
be  met  not  only  by  the  local  laborers  of  the  village  itself,  but  also  by 
the  sub-superintendent  and  any  others  who  may  in  any  sense  be  re- 
sponsible for  the  work  there. 

The  task  falling  to  these  higher  officers  as  they  go  out  among  the 
native  Christians  is  varied  in  its  character. 

First  of  all,  it  comprehends  the  duty  of  inspection.  Schools,  cate- 
chumens, the  people  generally,  must  be  examined  and  their  progress 
noted ;  rolls  of  day  schools.  Sabbath  Schools,  baptized  adults,  baptized 
infants  and  inquirers  must  be  scrutinized,  corrected  or  purged  ;  reports 
of  work  done,  and  of  the  condition  of  things  generally,  must  be  heard. 

Cases  of  discipline  must  also  be  attended  to ;  inquirers  must  be 
taught ;  candidates  for  baptism  must  be  examined  and  received  into 
the  church  j  sites  for  school-houses,  churches  and  rest-houses  must  be 

*See  pp.  185-195. 


MO  NTH L  V  MEE  TINGS  AND   LITER  A  TURE  273 

selected  or  purchased ;  arrangements  must  be  made  for  building ; 
preaching,  zenana  work  and  instruction  of  all  kinds  must  be  kept  up 
as  continuously  as  possible  during  the  sojourn  of  the  party ;  the  Lord's 
Supper,  perhaps,  must  be  dispensed  ;  everything  in  fact  must  be  done 
while  they  are  present  which  will  tend  to  edify  the  people  and  benefit 
the  cause. 

Every  month,  too,  in  some  Mission  Districts,  a  general  meeting  of 
all  the  workers  (male  or  female)  is  held  by  the  mission,  or  the  zenana, 
superintendent,  not  only  for  the  purpose  of  giving  them  their  wages, 
but  also  for  the  purpose  of  hearing  their  reports,  approving  or  disap- 
proving their  plans,  correcting  their  mistakes  and  guiding  their  future 
labors.  And  sometimes,  in  cases  of  emergency,  a  local  worker,  or  sub- 
superintendent,  will  make  a  special  report  of  difficulties,  by  mail  or  in 
person,  to  his  or  her  superior,  and,  if  possible,  secure  such  action  as 
may  be  necessary  to  provide  a  remedy. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  machinery  is  complicated  and  that  the 
appliances  are  many  and  varied  which  we  have  used  for  the  purpose 
of  training  Christ's  people  and  bringing  them  up  to  a  higher  condition 
of  religious  life  and  work.  It  will  also  be  seen  that  our  methods  are 
largely  autocratic  in  their  nature  and  bear  a  closer  likeness  to  Episco- 
palianism,  or  rather  to  the  arrangements  of  the  India  Civil  Service, 
than  to  Congregationalism  or  Presbyterianism.  Even  the  sealing  or- 
dinances of  the  church  (Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper)  are  dispensed 
frequently,  not  under  the  direction  and  superintendence  of  ecclesias- 
tical courts,  but  according  to  the  will  of  the  officiating  minister  alone. 
This  at  the  outset  of  missionary  operations  is  no  doubt  necessary,  but 
its  continuance  beyond  the  limits  of  necessity  has  a  retarding  rather 
than  an  advancing  influence.  It  hinders  the  development  of  autonomy 
in  the  native  church  and  checks  the  progress  of  republican  Presbyte- 
rianism. It  is  to  be  hoped,  however,  that  church  organizations  will  be 
established  more  rapidly  in  the  future  than  they  have  been  in  the  past 
and  that  Sessions,  Presbyteries  and  Synods  will  be  allowed  to  do  their 
own  appropriate  work.* 

To  Christian  literature  as  a  means  of  general  edification  only  allu- 
sions have  heretofore  been  made,  nor  will  much  be  said  in  regard  to  it 
now,  because  occasion  will  be  given  hereafter  in  another  connection  f 
for  its  consideration  as  a  whole.  It  is  simply  necessary  to  state  here 
that,  notwithstanding  the  illiteracy  of  our  people,  papers,  tracts  and 

*  See  pp.  138,  139,  t  See  Chapter  XXV;  also  pp.  184,  185. 

18 


274  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

books  have  had  an  important  place,  and  doubtless  will  in  the  future 
have  a  still  more  important  place,  in  the  work  of  advancing  their  in- 
telligence, piety  and  usefulness. 

Of  Christian  melas  (or  conventions)  and  Christian  villages  nothing 
has  been  said  heretofore,  because  they  have  not  been  employed  much 
by  us  as  a  means  of  developing  fraternal  or  spiritual  life  among  our 
j)eople.  But  a  few  words  in  regard  to  their  character  may  not  be  out 
of  place. 

A  Christian  mcla  is  much  like  an  old-fashioned  Methodist  camp- 
meeting.  Christians  from  all  sides  meet  in  some  previously  selected 
locality  and  for  one,  two  or  more  days  spend  their  time  in  social  inter- 
course and  religioys  worship — bringing  their  provisions  and  their  Psalm 
books  with  them.  That  such  meetings,  occasionally  held  and  properly 
conducted,  do  good,  there  is  no  doubt.  They  develop  a  sense  of 
brotherhood,  strengthen  confidence  in  the  stability  of  the  Christian 
cause,  create  enthusiasm  for  the  spread  of  the  gospel,  advance  Scrip- 
ture knowledge,  deepen  piety  and  by  their  size  make  a  marked  im- 
pression upon  the  world  around.  Of  a  inela,  held  May  24,  1894,  in 
the  Gurdaspur  District,  at  which  150  persons,  or  about  one-fourth  of 
the  Christians  of  the  District,  were  present,  Mr.  Caldwell  says,  "  This 
gathering  has  done  much  to  incite  the  spirit  of  self-support.  A  few 
have  declared  independence  and  are  no  longer  under  the  direct  con- 
trol of  the  higher  castes." 

In  this  connection,  too,  it  might  be  remarked  that,  through  our 
Presbyterial  system,  a  good  opportunity  is  presented,  from  time  to 
time,  for  holding  such  conventions.  As  Presbyterians  are  required  to 
meet  regularly  for  ecclesiastical  business,  so,  without  much  extra  trouble, 
the  common  people  might  then  be  collected  together  for  purposes  of 
religious  edification.  Even  the  proceedings  of  Presbytery  itself  might 
be  utilized  to  promote  the  same  great  end. 

In  favor  of  the  policy  of  collecting  our  baptized  people  into  particu- 
lar localities  and  establishing  Christian  villages  or  settlements,  we  can- 
not say  so  much.  Only  one  project  of  the  kind  has  been  attempted 
within  our  bounds — that  of  Scottgarh,  near  Zafarwal.  But  this  has  not 
proved  much  of  a  "  success  ;  "  nor,  as  far  as  can  be  ascertained,  has  the 
Scotch  Mission  experiment  at  Sialkot,  nor  the  Cliurch  Mission  move- 
ment at  Clarkabad.  One  difficulty  is  the  expense  involved  in  such 
attempts  to  build  up  independent  Christian  communities.  Another  is 
the  trouble  connected  with  their  management.     A  third  is  the  failure 


"     DRAWBACKS    TO    CHRIST/AN   TRAINING  275 

to  discover  among  Christians,  huddled  together  in  this  way,  any  more 
signs  of  religious  advancement  than  among  others.  But  the  greatest 
objection  of  all,  perhaps,  is  the  fact  that  under  such  circumstances 
Christians  exercise  less  influence  over  the  ungodly  than  they  would  in 
a  more  scattered  condition.  Better,  if  possible,  for  new  converts  to 
live  in  the  families  and  in  the  neighborhoods  where  they  have  been 
brought  up.  There  they  can  help  to  spread  the  gospel  and,  while  in 
the  world,  show  that  they  are  not  of  it.  The  leaven  has  a  chance  to 
do  its  appropriate  work.  In  the  case  of  high-caste  converts  and  Mu- 
hammadans  it  may  be  necessary  to  accept  that  segregation  which  is 
forced  upon  them  by  their  former  friends  and  give  them  shelter  for  a 
time  on  Mission  compounds ;  but  even  this  phase  of  the  policy  of  the 
aggregation  of  Christians  has  developed  manifold  evils  and  in  many 
instances  has  been  severely  and  justly  condemned.  The  compound  as 
well  as  the  village  system  only  helps  to  multiply  and  intensify  the  re- 
stricting evils  of  caste.* 

Besides  the  drawbacks  to  successful  Christian  training  which  have 
already  been  mentioned  incidentally  in  the  course  of  our  narrative, 
many  other  hindrances  to  this  work  are  worthy  of  notice.  One  is  the 
lack  of  natural  talent  on  the  part  of  many  of  the  people.  This  affects 
their  acquisition  and  retention  of  knowledge,  as  well  as  their  culture  in 
many  ways.  Another  is  their  poverty.  More  wealth  would  secure 
them  more  leisure  and  more  means  of  self-improvement.  Another  is 
the  failure,  thus  far,  to  establish  the  Sabbath  as  a  recognized  Christian 
institution,  and  the  dependence  of  these  people  for  employment  upon 
persons  who  do  not  value  the  sacredness  of  God's  holy  day.  Another 
is  the  lack  of  interest  on  the  part  of  some  of  our  professed  Christians. 
There  are  idlers,  mischief-makers,  obstructors  and  even  traitors  in  the 
camp  itself.  Besides  there  is  the  opposition  and  persecution  of  out- 
siders. Thus  many  of  our  people  are  hindered  in  their  efforts  for  good 
and  some  are  made  to  stumble.  The  proselytism  which  has  been 
carried  on  by  the  Romish  Propaganda,  the  Plymouth  Brethren,  and 
others,  has  also  had  its  deleterious  effects  upon  many  besides  those  who 
were  actually  decoyed  away  from  our  fold.  The  imperfection  of  those 
agents,  too,  upon  whom  we  have  been  dependent  for  the  application  of 
our  methods  and  the  operation  of  our  machinery,  ought  not  to  be  over- 
looked ;  nor  in  making  an  estimate  of  the  damage  springing  from  this 
source  should  we  except  what  has  arisen  from  our  own  weakness.  In- 
*See  pp.  20I,  223-225. 


276 


LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 


ternal  strife  and  division  may  also  be  mentioned  as  fruitful  sources  of 
spiritual  harm  and  especially  that  lack  of  unity  and  sympathy  which 
for  a  few  years  has  existed  between  foreign  and  native  workers. 

However,  in  summing  up  the  results  of  our  work  in  training  the 
Christian  masses,  the  writer  feels  assured  that,  notwithstanding  all 
drawbacks  and  hindrances,  much  has  been  done.  Tiiousands  of  people 
have  learned  to  read  the  Bible.  Multitudes  have  been  taught  passages 
of  Scripture  and  the  fundamental  principles  of  our  holy  religion. 
Hundreds  of  homes  have  been  consecrated  by  the  erection  of  a  family 
altar.  Whole  communities  have  been  brought  to  prize  the  house  of 
God  and  the  ordinances  of  the  church.  Scores  of  common  people  have 
taken  pleasure  in  the  work  of  exhortation  and  soul-saving.  Many  have 
been  strengthened  in  faith  to  resist  temptation  or  bear  persecution. 
The  entire  Christian  community  has  exhibited  a  slow  but  gradual  and 
general  rise  in  moral  and  spiritual  character  above  the  surrounding 
population.  And  instances  are  not  uncommon  where  belief  in  Christ 
has  been  known  to  sustain  the  departing  spirit  of  a  poor  native  while 
passing  througli  the  waves  of  Jordan  to  the  shores  of  the  Promised  Land. 

But  other  influences  have  been  at  work  in  improving  the  condition  of 
our  people,  and  other  good  results  can  be  named,  besides  those  which 
have  heretofore  been  mentioned.  Of  these  it  will  be  our  privilege  to 
speak  in  the  next  chapter. 


HILL   WATER-CARRIER. 


CHAPTER   XXIV 


HIGHER  TRAINING  OF  CHRISTIANS— I 

Its  Necessity — Means  Employed — Central  Schools — The  Christian  Training  Insti- 
tute, its  History,  Character  and  Results — The  Girls'  Boarding  School — The 
Theological  Seminary — Why  Greek  and  Hebrew  Should  Be  Taught  Theo- 
logical Students  in  India. 

HE    influences    referred     to    at    tlie    close    of    the     last 
chapter    are    those    which    are  brought    to  bear  more  di- 
rectly upon  a  select  portion  of  our  people,  by  means  of 
which  these  few  are  advanced  to  a  higher  stage  of  secular 
education  and  Christian  culture  than  that  of  the  common  mass. 

Such  training  becomes  an  absolute  necessity  in  missionary  work  for 
several  reasons: — first,  in  order  to  set  an  example  of  methods  and  re- 
sults which  will  stimulate  the  native  Christians  generally  to  higher  at- 
tainments and  lead  them  to  make  a  personal  effort  in  that  direction  ; 
secondly,  to  provide  the  means  of  superior  culture  to  those  of  the  peo- 
ple who  may  be  able,  partly  or  wholly,  to  pay  for  it ;  thirdly,  to  pre- 
pare the  agents  through  whom  lower,  as  well  as  advanced,  training  may 

(277) 


278  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

be  accomplished  ;  and  finally,  to  give  the  Christian  community  a 
standing  in  higher  social  circles  which  will  help  forward  the  great 
work  of  universal  evangelization. 

Each  Mission,  too,  must  take  its  share  of  this  burden.  Even  if  it 
were  perfectly  fair  to  throw  the  whole  of  the  trouble  and  the  expense 
of  this  work  upon  others,  and  even  if  other  Missions  could  be  found 
ready  to  aisume  it,  the  result  of  such  a  course  would  be  injurious  at 
home.  Each  field  has  its  own  peculiar  necessities  and  these  can  be 
met  best  on  the  ground  itself  by  home  agencies.  For  harmony's  sake 
alone  it  is  not  desirable  that  the  sons  and  the  daughters  of  our  well- 
to-do  people  be  educated  under  the  somewhat  diverse  influences  of 
neighboring  Missions;  while  as  for  catechists  and  other  Christian 
laborers,  those  whom  we  get  from  other  fields  are  usually  less  acquainted 
with  our  wants  and  less  satisfactory  in  their  work  than  those  who  are 
brought  up  and  trained  among  ourselves. 

The  means  which  we  have  used  for  purposes  of  higher  training  are 
the  following: — advanced  schools,  schemes  of  private  study,  conven- 
tions of  various  kinds,  church  qo\xx\.%,  panchayats,^  sermons  and  lectures, 
and  religious  literature. 

Of  advanced  schools  which  we  have  established,  having  this  end 
in  view,  the  Christian  Training  Institute,  the  Girl's  Boarding  School 
and  the  Theological  Seminary  may  be  mentioned  as  the  most  im- 
portant ;  but  our  High  Schools,  whose  primary  object  is  evangelistic, 
have  also  been  utilized  for  this  purpose,  while  Central  Schools  and 
Medical  Classes  have  accomplished  something  in  the  same  direction. 

Central  Schools  in  Mission  Districts  have  already  been  referred  to  as 
a  means  of  completing  work  imperfectly  done  in  village  Primary 
Schools. f  But  occasionally  they  have  been  used  to  carry  children 
forward  into  the  Upper  Primary;  and  now  that  the  Christian  Train- 
ing Institute  has  been  raised  to  the  grade  of  a  High  School,  it  is 
probable  that  they  will  be  utilized  more  than  they  have  been  heretofore 
to  prepare  pupils  for  entrance  into  the  Middle  Department  of  the 
Institute,  and  that  the  Upper  Primary  of  the  latter  will  vanish 
altogether. 

This  School  (The  Christian  Training  Institute)  was  begun  by  the 
Sialkot  Presbytery  I  in  the  summer  of  1881  and  is  located  at  Sialkot. 

*See  p.  271.  j- See  p.  270. 

Jin  1887  the  management  of  the  school  was  transferred  to  the  Mission;  and  at 
that  time  also  a  special  Board  of  Directors  was  appointed. 


THE    CHRISTIAN   TRAINING   INSTITUTE  279 

For  many  years  previously  sucli  a  school  had  been  desired  ;  but  the 
growing  needs  of  the  Theological  Seminary  and  the  work  generally 
then  absolutely  demanded  it,  and  the  funds  received  from  what  is 
called  the  Stewart  legacy  then  for  the  first  time  gave  complete  assur- 
ance of  its  pecuniary  support.*  At  that  time,  too,  the  brethren  of 
the  field  had  the  prospect  of  help  from  one  who  was  specially  called 
from  America  to  take  charge  of  the  school  and  thus  relieve  them  of 
a  work  which,  without  such  help,  might  have  unduly  increased  their 
burdens. 

The  school  was  organized  on  our  old  compound  at  Sialkot  ;  but  a 
new  and  better  location,  three  miles  north,  was  procured  for  it  from 
the  Ladies'  Association  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  in  the  summer  of 
1882.  On  this  property,  which  contains  eleven  or  twelve  acres  of 
land,  was  erected  by  Mr.  John  Inglis,  in  the  early  days  of  the  B.ritish 
occupation  of  the  Punjab,  a  large  house,  which  was  the  home  of  the 
Deputy  Commissioner  of  the  District  at  the  time  of  the  mutiny,  and,, 
after  its  transfer  to  the  Ladies'  Association  of  the  Church  of  Scotland, 
the  seat  of  the  Girls'  Orphanage.  To  the  improvements  already 
found  there  others  were  added  by  us  during  the  year  1883 — ^  house 
for  the  Head  Master,  another  for  unmarried,  and  a  third  for  mar- 
ried students — and  in  the  early  part  of  October  of  that  year  the  in- 
stitution was  moved  to  that  compound. 

Shortly  afterwards,  too,  a  large  well  was  dug  and  a  second  house  for 
unmarried  scholars  was  built  ;  but,  as  the  school  was  small  at  first,  and 
several  vacant  rooms  in  our  large  dwelling,  together  with  the  shade  of 
several  umbrageous  trees,  furnished  abundant  room  for  class  recita- 
tions, and  differences  of  opinion  in  regard  to  the  location  and  the 
character  of  additional  buildings  existed  at  any  rate  in  the  Presbytery, 
no  decided  effort  to  erect  the  main  structures  required  by  the  institu- 
tion, as  it  advanced,  was  made  for  several  years. 

Finally,  on  the  26th  of  December,  1887,  ground  was  broken  for  the 
foundation  of  the  chief  building  of  the  Institute,  and  in  March,  1S89, 
it  and  its  companions  were  reported  to  be  virtually  completed.  These 
are  four  in  number — all  of  brick  and  one-storied — so  joined  together 
at  the  corners  that  they  enclose  a  large,  well-protected  quadrangle 
(court)  where  the  boys  may  play,  sleep,  eat  or  study,  as  occasion  re- 
quires. The  front  building,  which  is  used  for  recitations  and  general 
meetings,  is  140  feet  long,  while  in  width  and  height  it  gradually  be* 

*See  pp.  70,  71. 


280  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

comes  larger  towards  the  renter,  where  its  width  is  58  feet  and  its 
height  about  35  feet.  It  covers  an  area  of  perhaps  32  square  rods. 
In  this  are  a  central  hall  and  six  recitation  rooms,  while  the  veranda 
which  encircles  the  whole  irregular  front  provides  separate,  cozy  nooks 
for  many  additional  classes.  The  buildings  flanking  this  on  the  riglit 
and  left  of  the  quadrangle  mentioned  are  dormitories,  each  containing 
two  large  rooms,  between  which  is  a  small  room  for  the  monitor.  The 
rear  building  contains  the  kitchen,  the  store-rooms,  the  library  and  a 
temporary  hospital.  This  structure  and  the  dormitories  all  face  the 
central  court  and  have  verandas  in  front,  while  their  outer-wall  win- 
dows are  ten  or  twelve  feet  above  the  floor.  Thus  the  privacy  is  per- 
fect. Should  need  require  it  the  amount  of  accommodation  given 
might  be  easily  doubled  by  the  addition  of  second  stories  to  the  rear 
buildings. 

Col.  G.  Newmarch,  of  the  Royal  Engineers,*  who  was  then  located 
at  Sialkot  as  Executive  Engineer,  kindly  drew  the  plans  of  these 
buildings  and  gratuitously  rendered  us  great  service  during  the  course 
of  their  erection  ;  but  some  suggestions  were  received  from  different 
members  of  the  Mission  besides  the  writer,  while  the  latter  not  only 
superintended  the  whole  work,  but  took  occasion  to  introduce  minor 
improvements  where  convenience  or  economy  seemed  to  demand  them. 
A  Muhammadan,  named  Umr  Bakhsh,  was  the  chief  overseer  (jnisfari), 
and  Bhola,  his  assistant. 

The  native  Christians  are  very  proud  of  the  Christian  Training  In- 
stitute, as  thus  completed.  In  their  farewell  address  to  the  superin- 
tendent when  he  left  India  in  February,  1S92,  they  called  it  a  beauti- 
ful and  magnificent  building  and  said  that  it  had  "  no  equal  of  its 
kind  in  the  Punjab" — that  is,  none  equal  which  had  been  erected 
solely  for  the  benefit  of  the  Christians. 

The  internal  economy  of  the  school  has  been  managed  so  as  to 
change  the  condition  of  the  living  of  the  pupils  as  little  as  possible 
and  make  it  easy  for  them  to  return  again  to  village  life  and  work. 
Married  students,  of  whom  there  was  a  large  percentage  in  the  early 
days  of  the  institution,  have  been  given  a  monthly  scholarship  and 
have  been  required  to  maintain  their  households  with  it  as  they  would 
at  home.  At  first,  too,  unmarried  pupils  received  a  scholarship  and 
were  compelled  to  cook  their  own  food  and  manage  for  themselves; 
but  this  arrangement  did  not  prove  very  successful,  because  of  the  in- 
*  Since  1888  he  has  been  promoted  to  a  higher  rank. 


COURSE    OF  STUDY  IN   THE   INSTITUIE  281 

experience  of  the  boys  and  because  it  interfered  with  their  studies. 
Hence  a  change  was  made;  and,  since  1887,  food  and  clothing,  in- 
stead of  money,  have  been  provided  directly  through  the  authorities 
of  the  school. 

The  course  of  study  heretofore  pursued  in  the  Institute  extends  over 
a  period  of  five  years,*  accords  with  the  government  scheme,  and  in- 
cludes both  that  of  the  Upper  Primary  and  the  Middle  departments — 
two  years  being  required  in  the  former  and  three  in  the  latter.  Down 
to  November,  1885,  what  is  called  the  Vernacular  Course  was  followed. 
This  embraces  (besides  the  Urdu  tongue)  Persian,  History,  Geograpliy, 
Physical  Science,  Algebra  to  the  end  of  simple  equations,  Euclid  to 
the  end  of  the  fourth  book,  and  Mensuration — with  Arabic  and  San- 
skrit optional.  By  request  of  the  natives,  however,  the  English  Course 
was  substituted  for  the  Vernacular  in  the  fall  of  1885  and  pursued  for 
six  years,  when  to  my  regret  a  return  was  made  to  the  Vernacular. 
The  English  Course  embraces  less  mathematics,  but  includes  tuition  in 
the  English  language.  Judged  by  American  standards,  therefore,  the 
secular  instruction  given  in  the  Institute  was  about  equal  to  that  secured 
in  one  of  our  ordinary  academies  ;  but  two  years  more  would  be  re- 
quired to  fit  a  pupil  for  entrance  upon  the  college  course  which  has 
been  established  by  the  Punjab  University.  In  March,  1889,  the  Pres- 
bytery petitioned  the  Mission  to  raise  the  Institute  to  an  Entrance 
standard  and  establish  a  higher  grade  for  boys  whose  parents  could 
pay  fees;  but  the  petition  at  that  time  was  unsuccessful.  In  the  fall  of 
1893,  however,  tlie  Mission  not  only  resolved  to  reintroduce  the  Eng- 
lish course  and  substitute  it  in  place  of  the  Vernacular,  but  also  virtu- 
ally granted  Presbytery's  request ;  and,  unless  a  new  turn  is  taken 
within  a  short  time,  we  may  expect  that  in  due  season  the  Sialkot 
Training  Institute  will  be  a  High  School,  preparing  Christian  pupils 
for  entrance  into  College.  This,  in  the  writer's  opinion,  is  a  good 
move  and  will  help  materially  to  build  up  the  native  community  in 
intellectual,  social  and  spiritual  power. 

Besides  a  course  of  secular  studies,  one  of  a  religious  character  has 
also  been  pursued  in  the  Institute — one  period  (about  fifty  minutes) 
being  devoted  each  day  to  its  recitations.  This  course  embraces 
special  studies  in  the  Bible,  Sacred  and  Profane  History,  Elements  of 
Theology,  and  other  subjects  which  may  fit  the  pupils  for  usefulness  as 
Christian  laborers.     The  weekly  prayer-meeting,  a  voluntary  mission- 

*  Lately  this  has  been  changed  to  six  years  so  as  to  embrace  more  Bible  study. 


282  LIFE   AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

ary  society  and  bazar  preaching,  have  also  been  utilized  for  practical 
drill  in  Christian  work,  and  especially  in  the  exercise  of  public  speak- 
ing and  exhortation  ;  while  on  the  Sabbath  religious  services  and  a 
Sabbath  School  help  forward  the  course  of  religious  improvement. 

Pupils  above  a  certain  age  and  below  a  certain  standard  have  not 
been  allowed  to  take  English,  or  to  advance  beyond  the  Upper  Pri- 
mary ;  but  at  the  end  of  that  time  they  have  been  formed  (with  others) 
into  a  Normal  Class  and  for  six  months  longer  have  been  given  special 
instruction  in  matters  related  to  the  work  of  teaching.  Opportunity 
has  also  been  furnished  this  class  to  get  practical  experience  during 
that  period  in  a  Model  School ;  while  the  amount  of  their  religious 
study  has  been  doubled.  At  the  close  of  this  training,  they  go  out  as 
teachers  and  lower-class  workers  into  the  mission  field. 

The  wives  and  the  daughters  of  the  married  students  are  formed  into 
a  special  school  of  their  own,  taught  to  read,  and  given  instruction  in 
the  Bible.  Thus  they  become  fitted  for  zenana  work  in  the  villages 
when  they  leave  the  Institute, 

Tliree  missionaries  have  held  the  position  of  superintendent  of  the 
Christian  Training  Institute :  Dr.  Barr,  during  the  first  year,  and  since 
April,  1894;  the  writer,  from  the  close  of  Dr.  Barr's  first  administra- 
tion to  the  latter  part  of  February,  1892  ;  and  Dr.  McKee,  from  that 
time  until  April,  1894.  During  the  summer  of  1894,  while  Dr.  Barr 
was  in  Kashmir,  the  Rev.  T.  L.  Scott  acted  as  manager  in  his  place. 
While  the  Institute  remained  on  the  southern  compound  Miss  McCa- 
hon  had  charge  of  the  women's  department.  Since  its  removal  to  the 
present  quarters  this  position  has  been  generally  held  by  the  wife  of 
the  superintendent. 

Five  natives  have  occupied  the  post  of  chief  Christian  teacher  in  the 
Institute — the  Rev.  Jiwan  Mai,  from  the  beginning  to  August,  1884; 
David  Charles,  from  September  2,  1884,  to  the  summer  of  1885  ; 
Amos,  from  tlie  fall  of  1885  to  November,  1887  ;  M.  A.  Thomas,  from 
August,  1889,  to  the  spring  of  1892  ;  and  J.  Isaac,  from  the  fall  of 
1887  to  the  present  date,  except  during  the  time  when  Mr.  Thomas 
was  employed,  when  he  took  the  second  rank.  All  except  Amos  and 
J.  Isaac,  too,  held  the  position  of  Head  Master.  The  Rev.  Jiwan  Mai 
is  the  only  one  who  was  brought  up  and  trained  in  our  field.  Amos 
came  to  us  from  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Mission  ;  the  rest,  from  the 
Church  of  England.  Mr.  Thomas  was  the  best  scholar  of  all  and 
Amos  the  best  exhorter;   but  Mr.   Mai  was  a  good  teacher  and  for 


(283) 


284  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

general  usefulness  and  integrity  none  stood  higher  than  Mr.  Isaac. 
While  with  me,  the  help  of  the  last  named  was  indispensable  in  the 
management  of  the  pupils  on  the  compound.  Mention  should  also  be 
made  of  Jawala,  who  acted  as  monitor  and  house-father  for  the  boys 
from  May  i,  1884,  to  August  6,  1891.  He  was  an  honest,  trustworthy 
old  man  and,  although  uneducated,  did  good  service  in  his  position. 

That  the  Christian  Training  Institute  has  been  a  great  power  for 
good  in  our  field  goes  without  saying.  Up  to  April,  1894,  about  370 
male  and  perhaps  60  female  pupils  had  had  their  names  upon  its  rolls; 
while  the  actual  attendance  had  risen  from  19  the  first  session  to  about 
120  the  last.  Most  of  these  scholars  came  to  it  from  the  village  Chris- 
tian schools  where  they  had  passed  the  Lower  Primary  Standard  and 
many  of  them  were  quite  young  in  years.  At  the  Institute  they  made 
advancement  in  spiritual  as  well  as  secular  knowledge  ;  and,  altliough 
some  were  disciplined  for  bad  conduct,  and  even  suspended,  as  many 
as  twenty-five  or  thirty  have  been  known  to  make  a  public  profession 
of  Christ  during  a  single  twelve-month.  Many,  indeed,  took  only  the 
Normal  Course,  or,  for  various  reasons,  abandoned  their  studies  before 
reaching  the  close  of  the  Third  Middle;  but  those  who  left  have  gen- 
erally gone  to  swell  the  list  of  workers  in  our  own  and  other  Missions, 
or  have  made  themselves  useful  in  some  secular  occupation.  Besides 
eight  who  had  died,  nine  who  were  studying  elsewhere  and  thirty-six 
whose  location  and  business  were  not  known  to  me,  ninety-five  other 
male  pupils  had  left  the  Institute  before  I  took  my  furlough  in  Febru- 
ary, 1892  ;  and  of  these  ninety-five,  sixty-eight  had  been  in  Christian 
service  and  two  in  government  employ;  while  thirteen  were  engaged 
in  manual  labor  and  ten  were  with  their  parents,  and  only  two  had 
apostatized.  Several  of  the  pupils,  moreover,  had  become  elders  or 
students  of  theology  and  three  soon  afterwards  became  licentiates. 
And,  now  that  the  school  is  thoroughly  established  and  has  large 
classes,  we  may  hope  from  it  in  the  future  still  more  important  results. 

Similar  work  has  been  done  for  the  female  part  of  our  Christian 
community  by  the  Girls'  Boarding  School,  which  is  also  located  at 
Sialkot.  This  was  started  by  Miss  McCahon  as  a  Girls'  Orphanage  in 
February,  1879,  when  the  Orphanage  of  the  Ladies'  Association  of  the 
Church  of  Scotland  at  Sialkot  was  closed,  and  four  girls  were  returned 
to  us  whom  we  had  been  supporting  in  that  institution.  To  these  as  a 
nucleus  seven  others  were  added  the  first  year,  three  the  second  and 
three  also  the  third — seventeen  in  all — of  whom,  however,  seven  for 


GIRLS'    BOARDIXG   SCHOOL  285 

various  reasons  had  left,  leaving  ten  as  the  total  number  in  actual  at- 
tendance at  the  close  of  1881.  Of  these,  some  were  not  orphans  but 
daughters  of  the  Christians,  or  others,  who  had  sent  them  to  the  school 
for  education.  Hence  the  name  of  the  Institution  was  for  two  years 
given  as  the  Girls'  Boarding  School  and  Orphanage.  But,  as  the  lat- 
ter part  of  the  name  seemed  to  hinder  its  popularity  and  the  great 
object  of  the  school  at  any  rate  had  changed  so  as  to  be  more  par- 
ticularly the  training  of  the  daughters  of  our  Christians,  it  now  began 
to  be  termed  simply  The  Girls'  Boarding  School  and  that  has  been  its 
designation  ever  since ;  but  day  scholars,  as  well  as  boarders,  are  also 
admitted  to  its  educational  privileges. 

This  institution  has  always  been  located  on  what  is  called  our  old 
(or  South)  Mission  Compound  at  Sialkot.  In  January,  1887,  a  reso- 
lution was  passed  in  the  Mission  to  remove  it  to  Gujranwala.  A  site 
was  also  then  selected  at  that  place  ;  and  after  the  lapse  of  two  and  one- 
half  years,  the  plan  of  a  new  building  to  be  located  there  was  prepared 
and  adopted.  But  the  inexpediency  of  such  a  change,  which  was 
maintained  by  some  from  llie  beginning,  became  evident  to  all  and  the 
resolution  was  rescinded  in  January,  1890. 

At  first  some  old  buildings  and  an  enclosure  perhaps  twelve  rods  square 
were  utilized  for  the  school,  but  a  new  dormitory  was  erected  in  1886, 
and  in  1890  the  court  was  enlarged  so  as  to  be  double  its  former  size, 
while  improvements  were  added  which  increase  the  accommodation 
of  the  institution  many  fold  and  fit  it  admirably  for  the  accomplishment 
of  the  end  for  which  it  was  established.  These  consist  of  dormitories, 
offices,  store-rooms,  matron's  quarters,  cook  and  wash-houses,  verandas 
and  other  structures,  ranged  around  and  facing  the  interior  (Eastern 
fashion)  and  forming  part  of  the  bulwark  by  which  the  children  are 
protected  from  outside  interference — a  high  brick  wall  being  erected 
to  serve  this  purpose  wherever  a  vacancy  occurs  in  the  exterior  rampart 
of  buildings.  The  northeastern  corner  of  the  rectangle  is  joined  to  the 
bungalow  of  the  lady  superintendent  so  that  she  can  enter  and  leave 
the  school,  night  or  day,  without  exposure  of  any  kind.  Near  the 
northwestern  corner  also,  but  a  few  feet  outside,  stands  the  bungalow 
which  is  used  for  recitations  and  public  meetings  of  all  sorts.  This  is 
a  flat-roofed,  one-storied,  brick  building,  erected  in  regulation  (Anglo- 
Indian)  style — with  a  hall  in  the  center  and  side-rooms  for  classes,  and 
of  course  an  abundance  of  veranda  shade.  It  is  the  most  expensive 
and  showy  part  of  the  whole  institution,  and  answers  its  purpose  well. 


286  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

The  control  of  the  school  has  always  been  in  the  hands  of  the  Mis- 
sion ;  but,  for  two  years  at  least,  the  Education  Committee  of  Presby- 
tery took  its  examinations,  and  in  the  spring  of  1887  a  Board  of  ladies 
was  appointed  to  supervise  the  whole  work  and  report  from  time  to 
time  to  the  Mission  itself. 

Miss  McCahon,  who  founded  the  school,  has  had  charge  almost  ever 
since;  but  Miss  Gordon  took  her  place  while  she  was  absent  in  Amer- 
ica on  furlough,  and  several  other  ladies  have  at  times  either  co- 
operated with  her,  or  acted  as  temporary  superintendents. 

Besides  the  lady  superintendent  and  one  or  two  Christian  female 
teachers,  it  has  been  found  necessary  to  employ  other  instructors  also 
in  secular  branches;  and  these  have  been  usually  non-Christian  men. 
Little  harm,  perhaps,  has  heretofore  arisen  from  this  arrangement ; 
yet  its  incongruity  in  a  school  for  Christian  girls  is  undoubtedly  more 
striking,  especially  to  an  Oriental,  than  that  of  the  similar  arrange- 
ment which  exists  in  our  boys'  school ;  and,  while  the  time  is  anxiously 
looked  for  when  the  latter  institution  can  successfully  make  a  change, 
that  day  will  be  doubly  welcome  when  in  the  former  well  qualified 
Cliristian  teachers,  and  better  still.  Christian  women,  can  take  the  place 
of  Hindu  and  Muhammadan  men.* 

Pupils  often  enter  the  Girls'  Boarding  School  at  a  younger  age  and 
with  less  previous  education  than  they  do  the  Christian  Training  In- 
stitute. Hence  the  curriculum  of  study  commences  lower  down.  Nor 
has  there  been  the  same  effort  in  the  Girls'  Boarding  School  to  cling 
closely  to  the  government  scheme.  Girls  seldom  go  into  government 
employ  or  into  any  service  where  a  regular  certificate  would  do  them 
any  good.  Their  sphere  of  action,  in  most  cases,  is  expected  to  be 
the  home  and  the  neighborhood  where  they  live.  Our  great  aim  then 
is  to  make  them  useful  wives  and  mothers  and  zenana  workers.  Hence 
the  English  language  has  never  been  taught  them,  and  their  study  of 
the  Persian  even  has  been  regarded  with  disfavor  ;  while  special  stress 
has  been  laid  upon  their  religions  instruction. 

As  in  the  Christian  Training  Institute,  so  in  the  Girls'  Boarding 
School,  an  effort  is  made  to  train  up  the  pupils  in  native  style — ex- 
cepting of  course  its  filth  and  its  disorder  f — so  that  when  they  return 

*  See  pp.  296,  297. 

f  When  pupils  enter  school  they  are  universally  required  to  pass  through  a  course 
of  cleansing  before  they  become  fully  installed  in  their  new  life  ;  and  sometimes  it 
takes  a  good  while  to  free  them  from  the  dirt  and  the  vermin  which  come  with  them 


DRAWBACKS    TO    GIRLS'    SCHOOLS  287 

to  their  village  homes  they  may  not  be  extravagant,  or  discontented, 
or  unfitted  for  their  life-work.  Hence  opposition  has  always  been 
made  to  the  use  of  English  dress  in  school  (especially  the  skirt)  and  to 
the  adoption  of  any  practice  which  would  separate  them  unnecessarily 
from  their  country  sisters,  or  which,  on  account  of  the  expense,  could 
not  be  kept  up  afterward.  The  food,  the  raiment,  the  furniture,  the 
habits  of  the  scholars,  as  far  as  practicable,  are  Punjabi.  They  eat 
without  knives  and  forks,  sit  mostly  upon  the  floor  or  upon  the  ever 
present  and  ever  useful  charpai,  and  draw  water  from  their  well  in 
native  style.  The  girls,  too,  are  required  by  turns  to  do  the  cooking 
and  the  housekeeping  of  the  establishment.  They  must  also  make  their 
own  garments,  and  perform  any  other  domestic  duties  that  may  fall  to 
their  lot.  Even  interference  with  studies  is  allowed  rather  than  a 
training  which  would  impair  their  usefulness  at  home,  when  they  leave 
school. 

Girls'  schools  of  all  kinds  in  India,  and  especially  boarding 
schools,  labor  under  disadvantages  which  do  not  attach  so  much  to  in- 
stitutions established  for  the  other  sex.  For  one  thing  they  are  not  so 
well  attended  as  the  boys'  schools.*  Parents  are  not  usually  as  anxious 
for  their  daughters,  as  for  their  sons,  to  be  educated.  Why  should 
they  be  ?  They  see  no  special  worldly  advantage  in  the  education  of 
the  former  ;  and  in  their  eyes,  if  they  are  still  heathen,  girls  at  any  rate 
are  an  inferior  class — "mere  cattle,"  as  they  say.  And  even  Chris- 
tian parents  sometimes  share  this  feeling  to  a  considerable  extent. 
Besides,  parents  are  naturally  more  reluctant  for  their  daughters  to 
leave  home  to  be  educated  than  for  their  sons  to  do  so.  Moreover, 
the  stimulus  to  study,  experienced  by  girls  in  India  while  at  school,  is 
not  as  great  as  that  experienced  by  boys.  Fewer  professions  and 
avenues  of  business  requiring  education  are  open  there  to  women  than 
to  men,  and  they  do  not  feel  the  same  necessity  for  being  diligent  and 
passing  the  prescribed  examinations.  And  then  marriage,  which  gen- 
erally closes  their  school  life,  usually  takes  place  at  an  earlier  age  in 
the  case  of  girls  than  in  the  case  of  bo3's. 

Notwithstanding  these  drawbacks,   however,   considerable  progress 

as  a  part  of  tlieir  personal  property.  The  same  process,  too,  must  be  renewed  every 
time  they  return  to  the  institution  from  home,  after  vacations — which  on  that  account, 
as  well  as  others,  are  made  as  few  as  possible. 

*  For  the  comparative  proportion  of  boys  and  girls  attending  school  in  India,  and 
in  our  own  Mission  field,  see  note,  p.  175. 


288  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

has  been  made  by  our  Girls*  Boarding  School.  About  one-half  as  many 
names  are  found  upon  its  roll  as  upon  that  of  the  Christian  Training 
Institute  ;  at  least  one  in  every  five  of  the  pupils  reaches  the  Upper 
Primary;  and  almost  all  while  at  school  become  communing  members 
of  the  church.  Of  those  who  leave  the  institution  about  one-sixth  be- 
come paid  laborers  in  zenana  visitation  ;  about  one-third  are  married 
by  our  Christian  helpers  and  co-operate  with  them  in  their  work ; 
while  the  remaining  half  settle  among  our  ordinary  members  and  become 
there  a  leavening  and  moulding  influence — mostly  for  good.*  Here- 
after, too,  the  fruits  of  labor  in  this  institution  will  doubtless  be  far 
more  abundant  than  they  have  been  in  the  past.  The  enrollment  of 
the  school  now  is  about  twice  what  it  was  in  1888  and  nearly  three 
times  what  it  was  in  1885. 

Our  third  principal  institution  for  the  higher  training  of  Christians 
is  the  Theological  Seminary.  This  originated  in  tlie  spring  of  tlie  year 
1877,  and,  for  some  time  was  the  only  school  of  the  kind  among  all 
the  Presbyterians  of  India.  Having  for  its  direct  object  the  prepara- 
tion of  candidates  for  the  gospel  ministry,  it  was  started,  and  has  all 
along  been  carried  on,  by  our  highest  ecclesiastical  court.  Until  Octo- 
ber, 1893,  this  was  the  Sialkot  Presbytery.  As  the  Synod  of  the  Pun- 
jab, however,  was  formed  at  that  time,  our  Seminary  naturally,  by  the 
direction  of  the  General  Assembly,  passed  under  the  care  of  that  body, 
by  which  it  has  ever  since  been  managed  through  a  Board  of  Directors. 
But  for  pecuniary  support,  as  well  as  for  the  employment  of  its  students 
during  vacations,  the  institution  is  dependent  upon  mission  funds. 
Missionaries  themselves,  too,  and  native  ministers  under  the  pay  of 
the  Mission,  are  employed  as  professors.  Hence  the  Missionary  As- 
sociation has  much  to  do  in  carrying  it  on  and  can  help  or  hinder  its 
progress  at  pleasure. 

The  first  professors  appointed  were  the  Revs.  J.  S.  Barr,  D.  D., 
Principal,  Andrew  Gordon,  D.  D.,  and  G,  L.  Thakur  Das.     The  last 

*  In  March,  1893,  the  following  report  was  made: 

Number  of  pupils  enrolled  from  the  beginning  167 

"        "       "      now  in  school  72 

"        "       "      that  have  been  in  the  Upper  Primary  16 

"         "        "       known  to  be  dead  4 

"         "        "       married  to  Christian  workers  27 

"        "       "      who  have  themselves  been  paid  workers  15 

In  the  summer  of  1893  t'le  roll  increased  to  81,  but  by  the  close  of  that  year  was 
reduced  to  67.     June  29,  1895,  85  pupils  answered  to  their  names  at  roll-call. 


THE    THEOLOGICAL    SEMINARY  289 

named  was  released  in  January,  1880,  and  the  Rev.  S.  Martin,  D.  D., 
appointed  to  take  his  place  ;  while  Dr.  Gordon  about  the  same  time 
ceased  to  take  any  part  in  the  work  of  instruction.  When  the  writer 
of  these  images  reached  India  in  January,  1882,  Dr.  Barr  also  resigned 
his  position  and  the  former  was  regularly  appointed  to  take  his  place 
— as  the  General  Assembly  of  the  year  preceding  evidently  intended. 
After  my  return  to  America  and  the  formation  of  the  Synod,  the  Rev. 
J.  P.  McKee,  D.  D.,  was  appointed  a  professor;  and,  after  his  departure 
from  India  (in  April,  1894),  the  Rev.  G.  L.  Thakur  Das  was  added  to 
the  staff  of  professors. 

The  Seminary  has  always  been  located  at  Sialkot — first  on  the  South 
Compound  and  afterwards  at  the  Christian  Training  Institute.  No 
special  buildings,  however,  have  been  erected  for  its  accommodation — 
those  connected  with  the  Institute  having  hitherto  been  thought  suffi- 
cient to  meet  all  necessary  requirements.  But  the  remainder  of  the 
Stewart  Fund,  so  far  as  it  goes,  could  be  used  when  needed  to  provide 
for  it  better  quarters  in  the  future.* 

A  nucleus  for  the  library  of  the  Seminary  was  obtained  in  1882  from 
the  gift  of  several  hundred  volumes,  which  for  years  had  been  accumu- 
lating in  the  hands  of  the  Mission.  This  was  increased  a  few  years 
afterwards  by  the  donation  of  seventy  volumes  from  the  United  Presby- 
terian Board  of  Publication  and  by  the  purchase  from  time  to  time  of 
new  and  second-hand  books.  In  1892  a  case  full  of  books  and  pam- 
phlets (244  volumes  in  all)  was  also  presented  to  the  institution  by 
one  of  the  professors.  At  present  the  number  of  volumes  in  the 
library  is  about  1000.     These  are  mostly  English  books. 

It  has  been  the  aim  of  the  managers  of  the  Theological  Seminary  to 
combine  as  far  as  possible  the  theoretical  with  the  practical — book  in- 
struction with  work  in  the  field.  Hence  a  course  of  four  years  was 
adopted  and  the  vacations  made  long,  so  that  the  students  could  spend 
several  months  every  year  in  mission  work.  This  policy  it  was 
thought  would  train  the  students  better,  and  also  test  their  capabilities 
more  fully,  than  a  shorter  course  of  longer  sessions  and  less  experi- 
ence. 

Tiie  curriculum  of  study  pursued  is,  in  its  main  features,  that  wliich 
Theological  Seminaries  adopt  at  home — embracing  the  original 
tongues  of  Scripture,  theology,  ecclesiastical  history,  Bible  introduc- 
tion, apologetics,  homiletics,  church  government,   hermeneutics,   and 

*  See  pp.  70,  71  and  279. 
19 


290  LIFE  AND    WORK  IJV  INDIA 

Biblical  antiquities.  Some  differences,  however,  may  be  noted. 
First,  we  pay  less  attention  there  to  the  various  Occidental  errors  in 
theology  which  have  sprung  up  during  the  course  of  its  development 
than  is  done  in  American  Seminaries,  and  more  attention  to  the  errors 
which  have  arisen  in  India  itself.  Our  apologetics,  too,  deals  more 
with  the  false  religions  and  philosophies  of  the  East  than  with  those 
of  the  West.  Our  course  in  ecclesiastical  history,  moreover,  is  less 
elaborate  and  less  burdened  with  minutiae  than  that  which  is  adopted 
in  Europe  and  America.  But  more  time  is  given  in  India  than  in 
America  to  the  study  of  the  Bible  in  the  vernacular.  We  desire  our 
students  to  be  well  acquainted  with  the  fundamental  facts  and  princi- 
ples and  texts  of  Scripture. 

As  for  Greek  and  Hebrew,  some  difference  of  opinion  and  practice 
is  found  in  India.  One  party  would  be  contented  with  a  very  brief 
course  in  these  languages,  or  with  their  expulsion  from  the  Seminary 
curriculum  altogether,  thinking  that  what  is  known  of  these  tongues 
by  the  missionaries  is  sufficient  for  all  practical  purposes  in  that  coun- 
try. Others  would  give  them  a  place  at  least  as  prominent  as  is  given 
to  tliem  at  home. 

To  the  latter  class  the  writer  belongs.  We  see  that  most  of  the  theo- 
logical students  and  native  preachers  know  little  or  nothing  about 
English,  and  cannot  therefore  in  ministerial  work  avail  themselves  of 
the  help  to  be  derived  from  English  commentaries,  while  Urdu  com- 
mentaries are  few  and  imperfect — so  that  they  absolutely  need  the 
advantage  to  be  derived  from  direct  access  to  the  original  words  of 
inspired  men.  As  the  writer  has  said  elsewhere:*  "Were  students 
w^ell  acquainted  with  English,  so  well  acquainted  that  they  could  con- 
sult English  commentaries,  sermons  and  dictionaries  with  ease  and 
satisfaction,  they  might  make  very  fair  preachers  without  knowing  the 
Bible  in  the  original  tongues.  But  this  they  are  not.  The  only 
books  they  can  consult  are  the  {fw,  imperfect  ones  which  have  been 
written  in  the  vernacular  or  translated  into  it.  Confined  to  these, 
their  minds  must  remain  dwarfed,  their  knowledge  circumscribed,  and 
tlieir  preaching  of  the  most  barren  and  least  varied  character.  To 
remove  this  defect  a  knowledge  of  Greek  and  Hebrew  is  the  best 
remedy.  This  will  bring  them  to  the  fountain-head — to  the  center 
whence  all  good  commentators  and  preachers  must  make  their  de- 
parture. No  other  attainment  will  give  more  fruitfulness  to  their  think- 
*  See  ihe  Indian  Evangelical  Review,  Vol.  XVI,  p.  395. 


NATIVES  IN  BIBLE    TRANSLATION  291 

ing,  or  more  certainty  to  their  convictions,  as  they  discourse  on  God's 
Word." 

And  then  a  thorough  acquaintance  with  the  original  tongues  of 
Scripture  is  one  thing  that  is  necessary  to  the  acquisition  of  that  self- 
confidence  and  that  independence  of  foreign  missionaries  without 
which  the  native  church  cannot  rise  to  her  proper  dignity  and  effectu- 
ally carry  on  her  own  work. 

Especially  is  it  needed  in  order  that  she  may  secure  a  thoroughly 
good  translation  of  the  Bible.  When  the  question  of  revising  the 
present  Urdu  version  of  the  Scriptures  was  before  the  Punjab  Bible 
Society  in  the  spring  of  1892  and  a  resolution  was  passed  requesting 
the  British  and  Foreign  Society,  which  had  assumed  the  management 
of  the  work,*  to  appoint  on  the  translating  committee  "  if  possible," 
one  or  more  natives,  the  writer  at  least,  who  was  present,  felt  deeply 
humiliated.  Was  it  at  all  doubtful,  he  asked  himself,  whether  natives 
suitably  qualified  could  be  found  for  this  work  ?  If  so,  was  it  not  our 
fault  as  missionaries?  If,  after  one  hundred  years  of  labor,  and  the 
acquisition  of  a  Protestant  Christian  community  of  five  or  six  hundred 
thousand  souls,  "  possibly  "  none  among  them  might  be  secured,  who 
were  at  least  as  well  fitted  as  Englishmen  for  this  purpose,  has  there 
not  been  some  serious  defect  in  our  policy  ?  Are  the  Greek  and  He- 
brew tongues  any  more  foreign  to  the  former  than  to  the  latter,  and 
are  not  the  former  better  acquainted  with  their  own  language?  Ought 
we  then  to  think  for  a  moment  of  going  ahead  in  the  preparation,  or 
the  revision,  of  a  version  for  the  use  of  the  common  people  without 
native  help?  Ought  not,  in  fact,  the  business  to  be  put  mainly  into 
native  hands  ?  Until  this  can  be  done,  ought  not  the  present  version 
to  be  allowed  to  stand  as  it  is?  Is  it  not  almost  a  waste  of  time  and 
funds  to  employ  foreigners  specially  for  the  purpose  of  revision  ? 
Have  not  all  the  great  and  abiding  Bible  translations  of  the  world, 
such  as  the  English  and  the  German,  emanated  from  natives  of  the 
countries  for  which  they  were  made?  Can  we  expect  India  to  be  an 
exception  to  the  general  rule?  Surely  then  our  Theological  Semi- 
naries ought  to  adopt  such  a  course  of  study  as  will  early  secure  the 
only  result  in  this  matter  which  can  be  at  all  satisfactory. j" 

*See  pp.  92,  93  and  300-303. 

f  In  justice  to  all  parties  it  should  be  noted  here  that  some  natives  were  eventually- 
appointed  upon  the  Bible  Revision  Committee,  although  they  are  not  the  leading 
element.     The  chief  reviser  is  an  Anglo-Indian,  the  Rev.  H.  E.  Perkins. 


292  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

And  very  easy,  too,  is  it  for  the  natives  of  India  to  learn  Hebrew 
and  Greek,  especially  if  their  minds  have  been  trained  to  study  as 
high  up,  at  least,  as  the  Middle  standard.  Far  easier,  in  my  opinion,  is 
it  for  them  to  do  so  than  it  is  for  Englislimen  or  Americans — partly 
because  these  tongues  bear  some  affinity  to  their  own,  and  partly 
because  the  genius  of  the  people  seems  (now,  at  least)  to  lie  more  than 
ours  in  the  direction  of  the  acquisition  of  language.  Certain  it  is,  at 
any  rate,  that  some  students  at  our  Seminary  displayed  remarkable 
aptitude  for  this  branch  of  study.  Three  read  the  Bible  through  in 
Hebrew  and  Greek  either  before  they  left  the  institution  or  shortly 
afterwards. 

One  difficulty  which  we  experience  in  our  theological  institutions  is 
the  lack  of  suitable  text  books.  In  several  departments  oral  instruc- 
tion alone  can  be  given — either  in  the  form  of  original  lectures  or 
translations  of  English  books.  It  will  be  some  time,  no  doubt,  before 
a  sufficient  number  of  suitable  publications  can  be  prepared  and  issued 
in  the  vernaculars  of  the  country  to  meet  all  the  requirements  of  such 
a  school.  Students  who  read  English  well  of  course  do  not  feel  this 
deficiency  so  much  as  others. 

But  there  are  few  such  students.  Our  standard  of  secular  education 
in  the  admission  of  pupils  has  never  been  higher  than  what  is  called 
the  Middle,*  or  its  equivalent  ;  and  this  does  not  necessarily  include 
any  English  at  all ;  and  what  it  may  include  of  this  tongue  is,  at  best, 
but  a  smattering.  From  present  indications,  too,  there  is  a  possibility 
that  even  so  high  a  standard  as  this  may  not  be  retained.  At  a  late  meet- 
ing of  the  managers  of  the  school  it  was  agreed  to  admit  students  of  a 
lower  grade,  and  as  a  matter  of  fact  the  first-year  class  of  the  Semin- 
ary during  the  summer  of  1894,  it  is  reported,  was  largely  filled  with 
men  who  have  advanced  no  higher  than  the  Upper  Primary. 

If  the  object  of  this  change  is  to  make  the  Seminary  a  Training 
School  for  Christian  workers,  as  well  as  ordained  ministers,  it  may  be 
tlie  means  of  doing  good  ;  but  if  its  design  is  to  lower  the  standard 
of  the  Christian  ministry,  in  the  opinion  of  the  writer  it  is  a  great 
mistake,  and  unless  soon  modified,  will  certainly  entail  injury  and  degra- 
dation upon  the  native  church.  But,  whatever  the  end  or  the  pro- 
priety of  the  change,  as  long  as  the  present  arrangement  lasts  our 
remarks  in  regard  to  the  need  of  suitable  text  books  for  the  institu- 
tion will  only  be  emphasized  by  its  existence. 

*  That  is,  within  two  years  of  entering  the  Freshman  Class  at  College.     See  p.  164. 


RESLLTS'  OF  SEMINARY   TRAINING 


293 


The  number  of  pupils  in  our  Seminary  has  never  been  very  large, 
chiefly  because  few  men  were  admitted  under  the  care  of  the  Presby- 
tery as  students  of  theology.  The  reasons  why  more  were  not  thus 
admitted  can  be  given  more  appropriately  hereafter.* 

That  our  Seminary  has  done  good,  however,  will  not  be  denied. 
All  except  two  of  the  native  ministers  that  have  been  ordained  within 
our  bounds  since  1880  have  received  the  most  or  the  whole  of  their 
theological  education  within  its  walls,  as  have  also  all  our  licentiates, 
and  several  other  persons  who  are  useful  laborers  in  our  own  and 
neighboring  Missions.  In  the  future,  too,  with  proper  encouragement 
and  under  proper  management,  it  ought  to  be  a  means  of  far  greater 
good  than  it  has  been  in  the  past.  Indeed,  the  hope  of  the  India 
church  lies  largely  in  the  increased  growth  and  efficiency  of  its  theo- 
logical institutions.  Without  a  well  qualified  native  ministry  the 
church  will  always  be  crippled,  and  without  Seminaries  this  ministry 
cannot  be  supplied. 

*See  Chapter  XXVIII. 


CHAPTER  XXV 


HIGHER  TRAINING  OF  CHRISTIANS— II 

Schools  of  Neighboring  Missions — Success  of  Higher  Education  Among  our  Peo- 
ple— Schemes  of  Private  Study — Summer  Schools — Religious  Conventions — 
Monthly  Meetings — Church  Courts  and  their  Drawbacks — Religious  Litera- 
ture— Bible  Translations — How  Made  and  Circulated — The  Urdu  Version — 
The  Punjabi — The  Psalms  in  Meter — B/iajmis — Indian  Lyric  Poetry" — Cate- 
chisms— Other  Books,  Tracts  and  Newspapers — Theology — History — Book  of 
Discipline — Summary  of  Vernacular  Christian  Literature. 

HILE  the  institutions  already  described  are  the  chief  ones 
upon  which  we  have  depended  for  the  higher  education  of 
Christians,  some  help  has  also  been  derived  from  our  High 
Schools,  where  a  fevf  of  our  boys,  for  local  reasons,  have 
studied  up  to  the  Middle  standard  and  even  beyond  it — from  the  Medical" 
Class  at  Sialkot,  where  several  women  and  girls  have  learned  to  be 
nurses,  apothecaries  and  medical  practitioners  of  a  primary  grade — 
and  from  schools  of  other  Missions,  where  certain  of  our  high-class 
workers  have  thought  it  best  to  send  their  sons  and  daughters.  Occa- 
sionally, too,  some  of  our  people  have  depended  largely  upon  the  gov- 
ernment schools  of  their  neighborhood  for  the  education  of  their  chil- 
dren. 

Wliile  claiming  that  our  institutions  of  learning  have  all  done  great 
good,  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  various  efforts  which  we  have  put 
forth  to  produce  a  large  class  of  educated  people  among  our  native 
converts  have  not  been  crowned  with  very  flattering  success.  Al- 
though thousands  have  learned  to  read  and  write  a  little,  and  hundreds 
have  passed  the  Lower  Prirnary  standard,  not  more  than  400 
of  our  Christians  perhaps  have  ])assed  the  Upper  Primary  and  not 
more  than  sixty  of  these  the  Middle  School  standard,  while  not  more 
than  ten  have  reached  College  Entrance,  two  the  degree  of  F.  A.  and 
two  the  degree  of  B.  A.  All,  too,  who  have  reached  Entrance  or 
(294) 


WHY  A  SCARCITY  OF  WELL-EDUCATED  CHRISTIANS?      295 

any  of  the  more  advanced  grades,  have,  with  one  exception,  been  edu- 
cated for  their  higher  degrees  at  schools  outside  of  our  own  field  and 
most  of  them  come  to  us  from  other  Missions — although,  to  offset  this, 
it  may  be  remarked  that  two  or  three  persons  now  in  other  fields 
reached  a  high  standard  while  with  us. 

Why  this  scarcity  of  well-educated  men  and  women  among  our  peo- 
ple ?  it  may  be  asked.  Scores  of  Hindus  and  Muhammadans  are  going 
up  every  year  from  our  schools  to  the  University  examinations  and 
many  of  them  pass  on  into  college  classes  and  take  the  highest  degrees. 
Why  can  we  not  say  the  same  of  our  Christians  also? 

For  one  thing,  it  may  be  replied,  in  a  general  way,  that  all  the 
causes  heretofore  mentioned,  which  operate  against  our  various  schools, 
have  helped  to  diminish  the  number  of  that  class  of  persons  from 
whom  alone  we  can  expect  any  to  seek  the  higher  degrees. 

The  pupils,  too,  who  might  go  on,  in  many  cases  do  not  want  ad- 
vanced education,  but  prefer  entering  early  the  field  of  practical  work. 
Some  have  little  ambition  ;  some  are  married  men  and  have  children, 
and  wish  to  do  something  for  the  support  of  themselves  and  their  fam- 
ilies; some  perhaps  desire  to  get  married  ;  some  see  the  need  of  labor- 
ers in  God's  vineyard  and  hasten  to  supply  the  want  as  far  as  they 
can  ;  some  are  pressed  to  do  so  by  outside  influence.  Thus  from  one 
motive  or  another,  as  Dr.  Martin  says,  "they  leave  school  so  soon  to 
get  mission  employment  that  they  do  not  obtain  half  an  education." 
We  felt  this  much  in  the  Christian  Training  Institute. 

And  then  pupils  who  would  continue  their  studies  if  they  could, 
have  not  in  most  cases  the  opportunity  or  the  pecuniary  means  that 
are  needful  for  this  purpose.  Those  Hindus  and  Muhammadans  who 
secure  a  good  education  generally  live  in  the  neighborhood  of  High 
Schools  and  have  sufficient  leisure  and  money  to  gratify  their  desire 
for  more  learning.  Our  people  are  scattered  through  the  country  and 
are  exceedingly  poor.  Very  rarely  can  they  follow  the  example  thus 
set  before  them  by  the  heathen. 

Nor  has  the  Mission  hitherto  felt  disposed  to  give  them  much  as- 
sistance in  the  matter.  Her  efforts  have  been  confined  chiefly  to  the 
preparation  of  men  for  evangelistic  work,  and  kw  have  been  wanted 
for  this  purpose  of  a  higher  grade  than  the  Middle  standard,*  which 
until  lately  was  the  limit  set  for  theological  students.  Indeed,  some 
members  of  the  Mission  have  not  been  very  anxious  that  young  men 
*  Two  years  below  entrance  into  college. 


296  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

should  even  reach  this  standard  and  enter  the  ministry.  They  have 
desired  rather  a  large  number  of  low-grade  workers  for  employment  in 
villages  and  obscure  places.  These  are  less  expensive  and  more  bid- 
dable than  persons  of  superior  education,  and  can  get  nearer  the  com- 
mon people.  They  have  less  aspiration  also,  and  are,  it  is  thought,  less 
disposed  than  highly  paid  and  highly  trained  laborers  to  seek  after 
power  and  independence  and  to  give  trouble  to  their  missionary  su- 
periors. With  some,  therefore,  it  has  been  a  matter  of  rejoicing,  rather 
than  otherwise,  to  find  Christian  young  men  leaving  the  Christian 
Training  Institute  and  our  other  mission  schools  before  they  have 
finished  their  course.  And,  as  for  the  advancement  of  any  beyond  the 
Middle,  until  lately  no  provision  whatever  was  made  for  the  purpose. 
Christians  who  had  studied  up  to  the  Entrance  standard  or  above  it 
were  hardly  wanted  by  the  Mission  in  ordinary  evangelistic  or  pastoral 
work,  and  what  were  needed  as  Head  Masters  and  helpers  in  High 
Scliools  could  be  readily  obtained  from  other  Missions,  almost  all  of 
whom  have  surpassed  us  in  tliis  department  of  missionary  effort. 

"Our  Mission,"  said  Dr.  McKee,  in  1894,  "has  never  encouraged 
high  education  among  the  native  Christians.  This  has  been  so  marked 
a  feature  of  our  policy  that  our  most  intelligent  members  have  invari- 
ably sent  their  children  outside  of  our  field  to  be  educated,  with  the 
result  that  they  are  generally  lost  to  our  church.  We  have  not  a 
single  minister  who  is  educating  his  children  in  our  Mission."  * 

And  similar  to  this  is  the  testimony  of  Sophia  E.  Johnson,  M.  D. , 
one  of  our  laborers  at  Jhelum,  who,  in  a  paper  read  before  the  Con- 
vention of  the  Women's  General  Missionary  Society  of  the  United 
Presbyterian  Church  of  North  America,  held  in  Jersey  City  during  the 
month  of  May,  1895,  and  afterwards  published, f  says,  "  The  time  will 
come — nay,  has  come — when  the  zenana  medical  missionary  will  have 
to  employ  heathen  assistants;  as  our  missionaries  are  obliged  to  do  in 
the  Boys'  Mission  Schools  and  even  in  our  own  Christian  Girls'  Board- 
ing School. 

"  Perhaps  you  will  ask,  Why  is  this  so?     One  reason  is  because  we 

have  been  afraid  to  go  ahead  with  our  Christian  boys  and  girls  for  fear 

I 
*The  aristocratic  feeling  of  the  parents  has  also  had  much  to  do  in  producing  this 

result.  Our  own  schools  for  Christians  are  largely  filled  with  pupils  of  low-caste 
origin.  We  have  no  institution  intended  specially  for  children  of  the  "  best  fami- 
lies," as  some  of  the  schools  of  our  neighbors  profess  to  be. 

f  In  the  IVomen^s  Missionary  Magazine  for  August,  1895,  pp.  7,  8. 


HIGHER   EDUCATION  OF  CHRISTIANS  297 

of  spoiling  them,  while  we  have  spent,  and  are  s[)ending,  our  energy, 
money  and  time  in  educating  the  heathen,  who  now  form  three-fourths 
of  the  staff  of  teachers  in  every  Mission  School  in  our  Mission. 
Hardened  souls  as  they  are,  they  like  the  missionaries  for  what  they 
can  get  out  of  them,  but  they  don't  come  to  Christ."  * 

Although  the  Rawal  Pindi  College  is  only  two  years  old,  and  a 
movement  to  take  over  under  our  management  the  Bhera  School  has 
been  recently  originated,  and  both  are  almost  exclusively  schools  for 
the  heathen,  it  is  nevertheless  gratifying  to  find  that  our  past  mistake 
in  regard  to  the  higher  education  of  Christians  has  been  partly  recog- 
nized and  that  provision  has  been  made  for  its  correction  in  the  near 
future  by  the  elevation  of  the  Christian  Training  Institute  to  the  dig- 
nity of  a  High  School.  Not  only  should  we  be  able  to  supply  our 
highest  institutions  with  a  few  Bible  instructors  but  also  with  a  suffi- 
cient number  of  Christian  teachers  to  fully  man  them  in  every  depart- 
ment, so  as  to  obviate  the  necessity  of  employing  heathen  helpers. 
Moreover,  a  few  native  ministers  of  superior  grade  are  needed  as 
special  champions  of  the  truth  and  mission  superintendents. f  And  a 
good  thing  it  would  be  if  we  had  more  representatives  in  government 
employ  and  in  business  circles.  By  such  additions  to  the  higher  ranks 
of  our  Christian  population  the  whole  cause  would  be  benefited  and 
Zion  would  be  made  to  arise  and  shine.  The  glaring  inconsistency  of 
our  educating  Hindus  and  Muhammadans  to  advanced  degrees  and 
neglecting  the  people  of  God  would  also  be  removed.  And  thus,  too, 
one  of  the  great  causes  of  complaint  made  by  our  native  Christians 
would  be  taken  away. 

But  besides  regular  institutions  of  learning,  schemes  of  private  study 
have  also  been  established  for  our  workers,  by  pursuing  which  they 
might  progress  in  secular  and  religious  knowledge,  as  well  as  practical 
force,  and,  on  passing  examinations  in  which,  at  stated  intervals,  they 
might  be  advanced  in  salary,  dignity  and  general  usefulness.  The 
most  important  of  these  is  one  which  was  adopted  by  the  Sialkot  Pres- 
bytery in  October,  18S7,  and  which  has  ever  since  been  in  operation. 
These  schemes  resemble  somewhat  the  arrangements  made  by  Metho- 

*  Compare  wilh  this  the  objections  made  to  an  educational  policy  in  evangelistic 
work  (pp.  165-16S,  173),  and  obstructions  to  the  increase  of  a  well-qualified  native 
ministry  (Chap.  XXVIII). 

f  Hence  arose  our  "Evangelical  Grade" — the  one  to  which  tlie  late  Rev.  E.  P. 
Swift  belonged  and  to  which  the  Rev.  G.  L.  Thakur  Das  belonged  before  he  left  our 
church. 


298  LIFE  AND    WORK  IM  INDIA 

dist  Episcopal  Conferences  for  the  improvement  and  advancement  of 
their  preachers  and  exhorters.  Little  practical  benefit,  however,  has 
hitherto  been  derived  from  them  by  us.  Perhaps  the  course  of  study 
proposed  is  too  hard  ;  perhaps  the  workers  have  not  enough  leisure 
time  to  pursue  it  properly  ;  perhaps  the  arrangements  for  examinations 
are  not  as  favorable  as  they  should  be  ;  perhaps  there  is  not  enough 
of  ambition  among  those  for  whom  these  schemes  are  intended. 
Whatever  the  cause,  few  have  availed  themselves  of  the  advantages 
thus  set  before  them. 

Summer  schools,  no  doubt,  have  accomplished  more.  These  are 
held  for  a  few  days,  or  weeks,  at  the  season  when  least  can  be  done  in 
itineration  and  village  work.  Sometimes  they  are  local,  including 
only  the  laborers  of  one  District.  Sometimes  the  workers  of  several 
Districts  are  joined  together  in  the  meetings.  The  exercises  consist  of 
special  lectures,  drills,  Bible  readings,  conferences,  prayer  meetings — 
anything  and  everything,  in  short,  which  would  conduce  to  intellectual 
growth,  Biblical  knowledge,  practical  skill  and  spiritual  life.  And  all 
are  under  the  leadership  of  specially  appointed  and  specially  qualified 
instructors,  foreign  or  native. 

Religious  conventions  differ  from  summer  schools  in  being  less  pro- 
tracted, formal  and  select  in  their  character.  A  programme  is  made 
out  beforehand,  and  perhaps  printed,  and  papers  are  read  or  addresses 
delivered  on  special  subjects.  But  the  Christian  community  in  general 
is  expected  to  attend,  while  there  is  a  great  deal  of  freedom  and  spon- 
taneity in  their  proceedings — just  as  is  the  case  at  home.  Several  con- 
ventions of  this  character  have  been  held  during  the  past  twelve  years, 
and,  as  a  general  thing,  they  have  been  highly  profitable. 

The  monthly  meetings  of  workers,  when  they  make  their  reports  to 
their  superintendent  and  receive  their  pay,  have  already  been  men- 
tioned in  another  connection.*  These  are  sometimes  conducted  in 
such  a  way  as  to  be  very  useful  to  all  the  participants.  The  simple  re- 
ports of  success,  or  trial,  then  given  will  often  themselves  have  a 
marked  effect  for  good  upon  every  hearer;  while  the  advice  presented, 
the  prayers  offered  up,  tlie  Psalms  sung,  and  the  brotherly  sympathy 
felt,  help  greatly  the  general  edification  of  all  who  are  present,  and 
tend  to  lift  minister  and  helpers  alike  to  a  higher  plane  of  Christian 
activity  and  religious  experience. 

Church  courts  have  also  exercised  a  good  training  influence   upon 

♦See  p.  273. 


<(f:H»f-.>m  ^-s-' 


A    (iKdli'    (JF    (;IIKI^^1A^S. 


women's  department,  christian  training  institute. 


CHURCH  COURTS  AS    TRAINING   SCHOOLS  299 

officers  of  the  church.  Here  ministers  and  elders  learn  parliamentary 
and  ecclesiastical  law  and  become  skilled  in  the  management  of  church 
business.  Here  they  learn  that  self-restraint,  that  deference  to  authority, 
that  discrimination  between  the  true  and  the  false,  that  regard  for  the 
rio-hts  of  others,  and  that  obligation  to  seek  the  edification  of  the  whole 
church,  which  are  necessary  to  make  them  safe  and  useful  rulers  over 
the  people  of  God.  Missionaries,  of  course,  are  expected  to  co-operate 
in  such  organizations,  and,  when  they  are  qualified  by  gifts  and  ex- 
perience for  the  business,  do  much,  by  example  and  precept,  to  instruct 
their  native  brethren  and  prepare  them  for  independent  action.  Co- 
operation by  them  in  the  lowest  courts  (Sessions)  as  elders,  under  the 
moderatorship  of  native  pastors,  as  is  sometimes  done,  also  gives  a 
pattern  of  humility,  submission  and  brotherly  love,  which  helps  to  curb 
the  spread  of  an  ambitious  or  a  supercilious  spirit,  and  tends,  either  to 
prevent  the  opening  of  a  chasm  of  alienation  between  foreigners  and 
natives,  or  to  close  such  a  gap  when  it  has  already  been  made. 

One  great  drawback  to  this  branch  of  higher  training  is  that  mis- 
sionaries themselves  have  little  experience  in  parliamentary  and  eccle- 
siastical business  previous  to  their  departure  for  a  foreign  field.  Very 
seldom  have  they  ever  been  in  a  pastorate,  or  have  they  ever  been  for 
any  length  of  time  members  of  a  church  court  at  home,  before  under- 
taking the  important  responsibility  of  leadership  in  the  formation  of  a 
young  and  rising  church  abroad.  With  the  prestige  of  Europeans  and 
Americans,  they  yet  often  make  the  mistakes  of  a  tyro  ;  and  the  result 
of  such  teaching  and  influence  upon  the  natives  is  likely  to  be  crude- 
ness,  inconsistency,  confusion  and  ignorance  of,  or  disrepect  for,  the 
Presbyterian  polity,  if  not  for  all  parliamentary  law.  A  special  course 
of  instruction  and  discipline  in  matters  of  this  kind  is  certainly  an  im- 
portant prerequisite  to  successful  ministerial  work  abroad,  and  should 
be  taken  by  all  ordained  men  who  go  to  our  foreign  missions — especially 
at  the  present  stage  in  their  progress  of  development. 

Another  drawback,  particularly  in  the  higher  courts,  is  the  lack  of 
pecuniary  responsibility,  and  dei)endence  for  the  sinews  of  power  upon 
the  Missionary  Association.  Without  men  or  money  little  can  be  done 
in  any  undertaking;  and  for  these  necessaries,  Sessions,  Presbyteries 
and  the  Synod  are  dependent  upon  the  will  of  the  Mission.  The 
knowledge  of  this  fact  takes  away  the  chief  stimulus  to  action  in  our 
ecclesiastical  bodies.  A  damper  is  thus  thrown  upon  plans,  resolu- 
tions and  discussions.     Every  one  knows  that  nothing  can  be  finally 


300  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

settled  in  these  courts  and  that  the  Mission  may  not  even  consider  the 
matters  which  they  bring  forward.  Natives  feel  that  they  are  wasting 
breath  by  speech-making,  and  thought  by  careful  deliberation.  Foreign 
members  are  shy  to  commit  themselves — reserving  their  opinions 
and  remarks  for  another  arena.  Tiius  the  dryness  of  routine,  the 
platitudes  of  commonplace  talk,  and  the  wildnesses  of  undigested 
thought  are  substituted  for  the  earnestness  and  brightness  and  effective- 
ness of  serious  debate.  The  training  and  growth  in  wisdom  sought  for 
are  largely  lost.  A  sense  of  irresponsibility  and  weakness  dominates 
everything  and  settles,  like  a  partial  paralysis,  over  the  whole  pro- 
ceedings. For  this  reason  some  natives  have  gone  so  far  as  to  express 
the  wisli  that,  until  more  power  is  given  our  higher  courts,  these  courts 
would  cease  to  act  altogether. 

Associated  with  all  these  various  means  of  lower  and  higher  training 
is  that  of  the  printed  page — religious  literature. 

First  and  foremost  in  this  line  comes,  of  course,  the  Bible  in  vernacu- 
lar tongues.  Three  translations  have  been  utilized — the  Urdu,  the 
Gurmukhi,  and  the  Punjabi  in  Persian  character. 

The  Urdu,  which  is  published  in  three  characters — Roman,  Persian, 
and  Arabic — had  its  beginnings  in  the  early  part  of  the  century.  Two 
independent  versions  of  the  New  Testament  were  then  issued — one  by 
the  Serampur  (Baptist)  missionaries  in  1811  and  another  by  Henry 
Martyn  (Cliurch  of  England)  in  1815,  which  had  been  completed  as 
early  as  1808.  But  the  Old  Testament  in  Hindustani  was  not  com- 
pleted until  1842.  It  is  sometimes  called  the  "  Shurman  and  Hawkins  " 
translation  ;  but  the  Rev.  James  Wilson  also  is  said  to  have  had  a  share 
in  its  production.  The  Rev.  J.  A.  Shurman  belonged  to  the  London 
Missionary  Society  ;  the  Rev.  James  Wilson  was  an  American  Presby- 
terian. When  a  second  edition  was  needed,  Dr.  Joseph  Warren,  an 
American  Presbyterian  missionary  of  Allahabad,  was  associated  with 
Mr.  Shurman  in  the  work  of  revision,  and,  as  the  latter  died  when  this 
work  was  half  finished,  most  of  the  labor  connected  with  it  fell  upon 
the  former.  From  time  to  time,  too,  as  other  editions  were  required, 
changes  have  been  made  in  these  versions  to  make  them  more  faithful 
or  intelligible.  What  is  sometimes  called  the  Mirzapur  translation  or 
revision,  (that  is,  the  product  of  the  labors  of  Dr.  R.  C.  Mather  and 
others,  which  was  published  at  Mirzapur,  a  station  of  the  London  Mis- 
sionary Society  in  Bengal,)  is  now  recognized  by  many  as  the  stand- 
ard edition  of  the  Urdu  Bible.     But  in  1892  a  conunittee  was  appointed 


TRANSLATION   OF   THE   SCRIPTURES  301 

by  tlie  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  to  undertake  a  thorough  re- 
vision of  all  past  efforts,  so  as  to  secure  a  still  more  perfect  version.* 

It  may  be  of  interest  to  note  here  that  the  work  of  translating  the 
Scriptures  into  the  different  languages  of  the  non-Christian  world  and 
of  revising  old  translations,  as  well  as  the  work  of  distribution,  is  ac- 
complished mainly  at  the  expense  and  under  the  direction  of  the  great 
Bible  Societies  of  Protestantism,  and  especially  two  of  these — the 
American,  and  the  British  and  Foreign — and  that  these  societies  divide 
the  foreign  field  between  themselves  in  such  a  way  that  their  under- 
takings will  not  clash.  Hence  we  find  the  American  Society  alone 
operating  in  Mexico  and  Cuba  and  the  British  and  Foreign  Society  in 
Greece,  while  the  latter  claims  the  special  right  to  carry  on  its  work  in 
lands  which  are  ruled  by  the  Queen  of  England. 

True,  a  fundamental  principle  with  the  American  Society  is  this, 
that  "  wlierever  American  missionaries  go,  needing  the  Holy  Scriptures 
as  a  part  of  the  weapons  with  which  they  are  to  conduct  their  fight  with 
irreligion  and  sin,"  there  it  may  "go  along,  tendering  its  aid  and 
sharing  in  the  work  which  they  do  ;  "  and  the  British  Society,  too, 
seems  to  act  according  to  the  same  principle.  This  is  why  we  find  the 
former  association  helping  American  missionaries  in  Bengal,  Madura, 
M^idras  and  other  parts  of  India,  and  the  latter  extending  her  aid,  at 
least  in  recent  years,  to  the  agents  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society 
in  Egypt. 

But,  however  the  division  of  the  territory  may  be  effected,  local 
societies,  found  in  the  different  non-Christian  countries  reached,  are 
usually  connected  with  that  larger  organization  which  claims  the  field 
to  which  they  respectively  belong.  This  is  why  the  work  of  revising 
our  Urdu  version  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible 
Society;  and,  as  this  society  is  supported  chiefly  by  members  of  the 
Church  of  England,  it  is  easily  seen  that  that  religious  body  has  the 
predominant  influence  in  determining  who  the  translators,  and  what 
the  result,  shall  be. 

The  propriety  of  now  undertaking  a  revision  of  the  Urdu  Bible  in 
the  manner  indicated  is  questionable.  That  the  present  version  is  de- 
fective all  will  admit.  It  is  not  always  founded  on  the  best  readings  ; 
it  does  not  always  give  the  exact  meaning  of  the  original ;  its  language 

*  See  article  by  tlie  Rev.  J.  J.  Lucas,  D.  D.,  in  the  Indian  Evangelical  Review, 
Vol.  XIII,  pp.  45,  46 ;  also  "  Life  of  Henry  Martyn,"  by  George  Smiih,  LL.  D.,  and 
pages  184  and  291  of  this  book. 


302  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

is  often  too  high  and  too  difficult  for  the  common  people.  But  what 
we  need  more  than  anything  else  is  a  new  version  from  entirely  native 
sources  (from  one  man  alone,  if  possible)  as  the  basis  of  revision — a 
version  couched  in  the  simplest  and  most  idiomatic  terms,  and  yet  true 
to  the  Hebrew  and  the  Greek  of  inspired  men — just  such  a  version  as 
that  of  Tyndale  or  Luther  was;  and  until  such  a  version  springs  up 
we  foreign  missionaries  might  very  well  wait  and  devote  our  strength 
to  other  work.  The  present  version  will  meanwhile  answer  the  great 
ends  of  a  translation  very  well.* 

The  Gurmukhi  is  a  Punjabi  translation  of  the  New  Testament  and 
portions  of  the  Old,  and  is  published  in  a  character  of  its  own  which 
resembles  somewhat  the  Devanagari  of  the  Sanskrit.  A  Punjabi  ver- 
sion was  issued  as  long  ago  as  the  year  1815  by  the  Serampur  mission- 
aries ;  but  the  one  referred  to  here  is  that  which  was  prepared  by  the 
Revs.  John  Newton,  D.  D.,  L.  Janvier  and  others.  It  was  begun  in 
1837,  but  was  not  entirely  completed  until  the  year  1866.  Lately,  too, 
it  has  been  undergoing  revision.  This  is  used  sometimes  by  zenana 
workers  and  preachers  in  the  villages,  and  is  understood  better  by  il- 
literate people  than  tlie  Urdu.  But  it  covers  only  a  part  of  the  Bible 
and  requires  for  its  perusal  the  acquisition  of  a  new  character  ;  and  be- 
sides, the  language  used  varies  materially  from  the  Punjabi  of  our  own 
field.  It  is  the  tongue  of  a  more  eastern  section  and  of  an  earlier  day 
— of  a  time  when  Sikhism  was  dominant. 

The  Punjabi  gospel  in  Persian  character  is  an  effort  at  a  new  trans- 
lation of  the  New  Testament,  published  in  a  form  which  can  be  read 
by  those  who  are  acquainted  with  the  Persian  Urdu.  It  originated  in 
our  own  Mission.  Dr.  Gordon,  it  is  known,  was  very  much  in  favor 
of  literature  of  this  character  ;  but  the  Rev.  D.  S.  Lytle  is  the  one  who 
arranged  for  its  production,  and  Rahmat  Masih,  then  a  licentiate  under 
our  care,  is  the  one  who  was  employed  by  him  to  do  the  work  of  trans- 
lation. After  two  or  three  of  the  gospels  had  been  put  into  Persian 
Punjabi  and  published — the  first  in  1885 — the  Punjab  Bible  Society 
expressed  a  desire  to  take  over  the  work  into  their  own  hands  and, 
with  our  permission,  did  so.  This  was  in  1886.  But  only  the  gospels, 
as  yet,  have  been  rendered  into  this  character.  Of  the  benefit  derived 
from  this  translation,  so  far  as  it  has  been  made,  one  can  hardly  speak 
too  highly.  It  brings  the  most  interesting  part  of  God's  Word  home 
to  the  apprehension  of  more  people  that  any  other  version  in  our  pos- 

*  See  pp.  290-292. 


THE   PSALMS  IN  METER  303 

session  and  is  an  invaluable  help  to  zenana  and  village  work.  It  is  to 
be  hoped  that  no  unpractical  scruples  about  the  exact  rendering  of  cer- 
tain words  will  prevent  the  early  completion  of  at  least  the  whole  New 
Testament  in  this  form  and  that  it  will  always  be  kept  in  stock  for  sale. 

Next  to  prose  translations  of  the  Bible,  versions  of  the  Psalms  in 
meter  have  done  more  perhaps  than  any  other  species  of  literature  to 
develop  and  sustain  the  religious  life  of  our  people.  Up  to  the  year 
1883  we  were  wholly  dependent  upon  chants  for  our  service  of  praise, 
or  upon  such  metrical  versions  as  could  be  had  in  the  publications  of 
other  Missions.  Those  found  in  a  book  of  Psalms  and  Hymns,  called 
"  Zabur  aur  Git,"  were  more  used  than  any  others.  But  they  were  few 
in  number  and  not  very  closely  conformed  to  the  original.  Accord- 
ingly efforts  were  put  forth  at  an  early  date  to  secure  a  complete  and 
faithful  version  of  our  own.  Little  progress  was  made,  however,  until 
the  year  1882 — partly  because  those  interested  in  the  work  oscillated 
between  the  adoption  of  Eastern  and  Western  meters.  In  January, 
1882,  an  order  was  given  by  Presbytery  to  her  Psalm  Committee  to 
prepare  first  a  version  in  Western  meter.  This  was  more  needed  at  that 
time  than  the  other,  and  the  direction  given  was,  under  the  circum- 
stances, no  doubt  a  wise  one.  By  the  spring  of  1883  seven  Psalms  in 
meter  were  adopted,  and  published,  and  brought  into  use  ;  and  in 
another  year  sixteen  more.  These  were  in  the  Persian  character. 
Twenty  more  Psalms  were  reported  ready  in  October,  1884;  six  in 
April,  1885  ;  nineteen  in  October,  1885,  and  thirty-two  in  October, 
1886.  These,  with  those  previously  printed,  made  100  in  all 
and  were  published  together,  first  (in  the  fall  of  1887)  in  Roman 
Urdu,  and  afterwards  (in  1889)  in  the  Persian  character.  In  Octo- 
ber, 1891,  the  remaining  fifty  Psalms  were  also  published  in  the  latter 
form,  and  subsequently  they  appeared  in  Roman  also. 

The  poet  employed  in  performing  this  work  of  versification  was  the 
Rev.  Imam  ul  Din  Shahbaz.  But  the  chairman  of  the  Psalm  Commit- 
tee, and  others,  rendered  him  some  assistance,  especially  in  ascertain- 
ing the  exact  meaning  of  the  original  Hebrew.  Until  his  departure 
for  America  in  the  spring  of  1S85,  Dr.  Gordon  was  the  chairman  of 
the  Committee,  and  after  that,  Dr.  Martin. 

These  Psalms  have  given  us  great  aid  and  satisfaction  in  the  ordi- 
nance of  praise,  especially  in  our  older  and  more  established  congre- 
gations.* 

*  See  p.  265. 


804  LIFE   AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

But  the  less  cultured  of  our  people  like  native  meters  and  native  airs 
better  than  those  of  Occidental  origin,  and  it  was  found  necessary  to 
prepare  versions  of  the  bhaja7i  form,  and  that,  too,  in  the  Punjabi 
tongue — the  language  which  they  love  most  and  knovv  best.  Before 
the  Presbyterial  Committee  could  begin  this  work,  however,  a  differ- 
ent Committee,  composed  of  missionaries  alone,  was  appointed  by  the 
Mission  (in  January,  1S90)  to  perform  it — the  Rev.  D.  S.  Lytle,  chair- 
man. But,  little  could  be  done  without  native  aid,  and  e.s])ecially  the 
aid  of  our  poet.  Accordingly  the  Rev.  I.  D.  Sliahbaz  was  virtually 
added  to  the  Committee  and  performed  the  most  important  part  of  its 
literary  labor.  The  result  was  published  in  the  early  part  of  the  sum- 
merofi893.  It  consists  of  fifty-five  selections  of  Psalms  with  music.  Mr. 
Lytle  is  responsible  for  the  notation  of  most  of  the  music — the  airs  be- 
ing such  as  he  found  already  establislied  in  the  songs  of  the  people. 

These  bhajans  occupy  a  place  somewhat  analogous  to  the  "Bible 
Songs"  in  our  home  church,  or  S.  S.  Hymn  Books  in  other  churches, 
but  their  use  at  present  is  even  more  extensive.  Scarcely  anything  else 
is  now  sung  in  our  village  congregations,  at  melas,  or  in  bazar  work. 

Indian  lyric  poetry,  and  the  tunes  associated  therewith,  resemble 
very  much  the  songs  of  the  Bedouins  of  Egypt  and  Western  Asia. 
The  scientific  difference  between  them  and  those  which  prevail  among 
us  Western  people  has  never  yet  been  thoroughly  investigated. 
Rhyme,  we  know,  is  largely  discarded  in  the  former  and  less  attention 
is  paid  to  regularity  of  feet  than  in  Occidental  poetry.  "  The  octave 
in  its  music,"  says  Sir  William  Hunter,  "  is  divided  into  twenty-two 
subtones,  instead  of  the  twelve  semi-tones  of  the  European  scale,  and 
the  complicated  structure  of  its  musical  modes  rests  upon  three  separate 
systems,  one  of  which  consists  of  five,  another  of  six,  and  another  of 
seven  notes."  The  effect  upon  a  Western  ear  is  not  always  pleasant. 
It  seems  often  like  a  "  ballad  in  a  minor  key  sung  intentionally  out  of 
tune;  and  melodies  which  the  Indian  composer  pronounces  to  be  the 
perfection  of  harmony,  and  wliich  liave  for  ages  touched  the  hearts  and 
fired  the  imagination  of  Indian  audiences,  are  condemned  as  discord 
by  the  European  critic."*  Yet  some  of  its  tunes  are  most  delightful. 
Their  very  weirdness,  wildness,  plaintiveness  and  curious  repetitions 
chain  the  attention  and  entrance  the  heart  even  of  a  foreigner,  and  to 
a  native  are  as  irresistible  as  the  songs  of  paradise.  Of  some  hill  airs 
introduced  into  a  new  edition  of  a  Hindustani  tune  book,  containing 
*Sir  William  Hunter's  "  The  Indian  Empire,"  p.  119. 


Prehtde 


Zabur  22.* 

Moderately  fast 


frtiuae  moaeraieiy  jasi  ^,, 


jE^giigEg3=gg^g|a 


f^^^^ 


±urqs::^« 


D.  S. 


/TV 


B-^ 1- 


?^eS^ 


i|:--q= 


CAo.— AiKhudawand  |  aiRabb  mere  ]  kyunTunmeri  |  sundanahin 
Jderimadad  |  tefaryadthon  |  durkyunrahnda  |  sundanahin, 

1.  AiKhudawand  [  RabbTumera  |  mainpukarda  |  fajare  tainunj, 
Rat  nun  bhi  main  |  chup  na  rahuda  ]  par  Tu  meri  |  sunda  nahin 

2.  Tun  Khudawand  |  pak  Khuda  hain  \  pahanda  hai  TQn  |  wadi  ai  { 
Asra  rakhaya  |  pio  dadean  ne  |  uhnan  nun  tun  [  chaddiya  nahin 

3.  Arzi  Tere  |  agge  kiti  |  uhnan  nun  chut-  |  kara  miliya  { 
Jinhan  asra  {  Teri  kita  |  uh  sharminda  |  hoe  nahin. 

I.  Mainunsabmal-  [  amatkarde  |  sarewekbke  ]  sang  bhi  lande  | 
Sir  bilaunde  |  rahnde  apne  |  hun  main  kira  |  banda  uahitk 

5.  Kahnde  hain  uh  |  thatha  marke  J  oh  bharosa  [  Rabb  te  dharda  | 
Je  Khuda  hai  |  us  nal  rSizi  |  tan  uh  us  niin  |  chadda  nahin. 

6.  Tere  hathon  ]  janam  paya  |  tQn  ne  main  nun  j  ai  Khudawand  j 
Man  di  god  wich  |  asrS  ditta  f  tQn  ne  main  nun  j  chaddiya  nahin. 


*  The  Twenty-second  Psalm  in  Oriental  meter — a  bhajan. 
20  (305) 


306  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

bhajans  and  gazals,  the  preface  says,  "Though  monotonous  in  their 
endless  repetitions,  they  are  as  weird  and  strange  as  their  own  Hima- 
layas, breathing  not  only  the  sameness  of  mountain  range,  but  the  dash 
of  streamlet  and  gleam  of  sunshine,  or  in  the  oft-recurring  minors,  the 
awe  of  unapproachable  heights."  Indeed,  were  it  not  for  the  popular 
songs  which  it  has  produced,  Hinduism  would  be  shorn  of  half  its 
power. 

Of  other  literature,  catechisms  perhaps  come  next  in  order  as  a 
means  of  training  our  people.  Several  of  these  have  done  good  service 
within  the  bounds  of  our  field — first,  a  translation  of  Brown's  "  Short 
Catechism  "  into  Urdu  by  Miss  McCahon,  and  another  of  the  same  into 
Punjabi,  under  Dr.  Martin's  direction  ;  next,  an  Urdu  version  of  the 
Assembly's  "  Shorter  Catechism  "  issued  by  the  Presbyterians  from  their 
Ludhiana  press,  and  an  easy  "  Bible  Catechism  "  prepared  and  published 
by  the  Methodists  at  Lucknow  ;  then  a  little  book,  called  "  The  Punjabi 
Ilm-i-Ilahi,"  translated  by  Miss  Campbell,  and  a  "Protestant  Cate- 
chism" translated  and  printed  by  the  writer  of  this  book  in  1890. 
When  the  Christian  Training  Institute  was  started,  a  knowledge  of  the 
Assembly's  "Shorter  Catechism  "  was  made  a  condition  of  admission 
into  that  institution,  but  this  condition  soon  became  a  dead  letter. 
However,  most  of  the  students  know  it  well  before  they  leave  the  Insti- 
tute, as  do  also  the  girls  of  the  Boarding  School.  In  villages  the  other 
catechisms  (especially  the  first  two  named)  have  been  taught  more 
than  it  has  been. 

Little  other  printed  matter  of  a  Christian  character  reaches  our 
common  people  except  perhaps  Barth's  "  Scripture  History  "  and  some 
other  elementary  books  (which  are  occasionally  used  as  text  books  in 
primary  schools)  and  monthly  tracts,  which  are  issued  gratis  by  differ- 
ent societies  or  private  individuals;  although  copies  of  \.\\t  N'ur  Af- 
shau  and  other  vernacular  Christian  newspapers  are  often  taken  by  our 
workers  and  read  more  or  less  to,  and  by,  the  villagers  among  wliom 
they  labor. 

Urdu  commentaries  on  the  different  books  of  the  Bible,  as  already 
mentioned,  are  not  numerous,  and  those  that  have  been  prepared  are 
generally  either  very  simple  in  their  character  or  written  in  the  interest 
of  some  particular  denomination.  Nothing  of  the  kind,  moreover, 
has  been  prepared  by  our  laborers.  A  series  of  thorough  commentaries 
extending  over  the  whole  Bible  is  one  of  the  desiderata  of  the  Indian 
Church. 


USEFUL    BOOKS  IN   THE    VERXACULAR  307 

In  the  line  of  theology  several  books  hav-e  done  us  some  service. 
First,  Dr.  J.  S.  Barr's  condensed  translation  of  the  theology  of  Dr. 
Charles  Hodge,  This  was  used  some  in  the  Theological  Seminary. 
But  it  covers  only  a  part  of  the  work  and  still  lies  in  an  unbound  and 
unpublished,  although  printed  form.  Help  in  the  Seminary  was  also 
derived  from  a  translation  into  Roman  Urdu  of  Dr.  A.  A.  Hodge's 
"Outlines  of  Theology"  by  the  Rev.  J.  J.  Caleb,  of  Allahabad.  Al- 
though the  language  of  this  book  is  high,  our  students  generally  could 
understand  it  and  profit  by  it.  Less  pretentious  works  are  "  Talim  ul 
Iman,"  a  translation  of  an  American  compend  of  theology*  by  one 
of  the  Allahabad  missionaries,  and  a  translation  of  selections  from 
Brown's  "  Explication  of  the  Shorter  Catechism  "  by  the  Rev.  Samuel 
Martin,  D.  D.  The  former  particularly  was  helpful  in  our  Training 
Institute  and  the  Girls'  Boarding  School.  But  the  edition  ran  out  and 
the  use  of  the  book,  to  our  regret,  had  to  be  discontinued. 

No  good,  complete  church  history  has  yet  been  prepared  and  pub- 
lished in  Urdu.  Dr.  Wherry's  version  of  Dr.  Mofifit's  brief  work  is 
too  small  for  the  use  of  theological  students,  touching  only  the  heads 
of  events.  What  is  needed  is  a  work  about  as  large  as  Dr.  George  P. 
Fisher's  "History  of  the  Christian  Church,"  or  Smith's  "Students* 
Ecclesiastical  History,"  with  a  good  analysis  attached.  A  larger  work 
was  begun  by  the  writer  of  these  pages  but  has  been  continued  only  as 
far  as  the  second  volume.  It  embraces  first,  "  The  Apostolic  Church," 
which  is  a  translation  of  the  first  part  of  Dr.  Killen's  "Ancient 
Church,"  and  secondly,  "  The  Ante-Nicene  Churcli,"  an  extensive  com- 
pend of  the  second  volume  of  Dr.  Schaff's  "  History  of  the  Christian 
Church,"  both  of  which  were  prepared  with  the  consent  of  their  dis- 
tinguished authors.  Were  the  series  completed  it  would  be  of  great 
use,  for  reference  at  least,  to  many  persons  besides  those  who  are 
attending  Theological  Seminaries.  The  present  writer  had  also  a 
translation  made  of  Fisher's  "  History  of  the  Reformation,"  but  it  has 
never  yet  been  revised  or  published. 

A  small  "Greek  Grammar"  by  Dr.  Youngson,  a  small  "Greek 
Lexicon  "  by  Dr.  Ewing,  a  "  Hebrew  Grammar"  by  Dr.  Warren,  and 
a  "  Lexicon  "  by  Dr.  Hooper,  have  done  good  service  in  our  Seminary, 
and  so  also  have  other  works  of  a  less  technical  and  more  practical 
character  done  among  our  ministers  and  Christian  workers. 

One  other  book,  too,  must  be  specially  mentioned.     It  is  our  "  Book 

*Dr.  John  McDowell's. 


308  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

of  Discipline  " — embracing,  not  only  the  Book  of  Church  Government 
and  Discipline,  but  also  our  Directory  for  Worship  and  the  Rules  of 
Order  to  be  followed  in  ecclesiastical  courts.  This  translation,  which 
is  chiefly  the  work  of  the  Rev.  G.  L.  Thakur  Das,  dragged  along  for 
several  years,  but  was  finally  issued  in  the  spring  of  1887,  and  since 
then  has  been  of  great  use  in  the  management  of  the  business  of  Ses- 
sions, Presbyteries  and  the  Synod.  In  connection  with  this  also 
should  be  mentioned  a  "  List  of  Urdu  Equivalents  for  English  Tech- 
nical Terms  used  in  Conducting  Presbyterial  and  Synodical  Business," 
which  was  published  in  1885  by  order  of  the  Presbyterian  Synod  of 
India  and  supplied  a  crying  want. 

While  noting  the  above-mentioned  works  more  particularly,  it  must 
be  remembered  also  that  a  considerable  number  of  other  books  and 
tracts  have  been  issued  by  the  various  Book  Societies  and  presses  of 
India  and  that  many  of  these  find  their  way  to  the  homes  of  our 
workers  and  our  people.  In  a  descriptive  catalogue  of  Urdu  Chris- 
tian Literature  and  other  publications,  prepared  and  published  by  the 
Rev.  H.  U.  Weitbrecht,  Ph.D.,  in  1886,  mention  is  made  of  489 
different  Christian  books  and  tracts  which  had  been  issued  in  Urdu, 
352  of  which  were  intended  for  Christians  and  137  for  non-Christians. 
Of  the  first  class,  25  were  commentaries  \  25  Bible  hand-books  ;  38 
doctrinal,  moral  and  pastoral  ;  9  church  history ;  8  sermons ;  53 
devotional;  7  biograpliy  ;  98  stories ;  13  for  women  and  girls  ;  57  for 
children,  and  19  miscellaneous.  Of  the  second  class,  75  are  said  to 
have  been  general  in  their  cliaracter,  6  directed  against  Hinduism,  52 
against  Islam  and  4  against  the  reforming  sects  of  both  Hinduism  and 
Muhammadanism.  Mention  is  also  made  of  96  publications  in  Pun- 
jabi (besides  the  Holy  Scriptures),  41  of  which  were  for  Hindus,  9  for 
general  use,  and  46  for  the  young. 

From  a  recent  report  of  the  Punjab  Religious  Book  Society,  we  find 
that  they  keep  in  stock  for  sale,  at  their  fine  depository  in  Lahore,  479 
different  publications  in  Persian  Urdu,  190  in  Roman  Urdu  and  82  in 
Punjabi,  or  651  altogether.  Of  these  253  are  issued  by  the  Punjab 
Society  itself;  84  by  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  Christian 
knowledge  ;  65  by  the  American  Presbyterian  Mission  ;  64  by  the 
Methodist  Press  at  Lucknow  ;  56  by  the  North  India  Tract  Society  at 
Allahabad ;  26  by  the  Orphanage  Press  at  Secundra ;  20  by  the 
Orphanage  Press  at  Mirzapur  ;  and  the  rest,  by  various  other  pub- 
lishers.    These  books  have  circulated,  to  some  extent,  among  those  of 


RELIGIOUS  BOOKS  IN   URDU  AND   PUNJABI  309 

our  people  who  could  read  and  were  able  to  purchase  them  and  have 
done  great  good.* 

The  absolute  number  of  separate  publications  will  appear  dimin- 
ished a  good  deal,  hovvever,  when  we  note  the  fact  that  many  of  them 
are  found  printed  in  both  Urdu  and  Punjabi,  and  sometimes  in  both 
Roman  and  Persian  Urdu.  Their  aggregate  amount  also  does  not 
accord  with  tlie  number  of  volumes  enumerated  ;  for  most  of  the  vol- 
umes are  very  small — mere  tracts  and  pamphlets,  indeed.  Of  the  479 
printed  in  Persian  Urdu,  only  %^  contain  each  100  pages  or  more,  and 
only  43  additional  treatises  contain  more  than  50  pages  each; 
while  at  least  100  publications  contain  less  than  20  pages  each.  One 
series  of  24  illustrated  books,  found  in  all  three  forms,  making  a  total 
of  72  volumes,  does  not  show  a  book  in  any  form  of  more  than  12 
pages.  The  largest  volume  is  a  "Concordance"  of  901  pages;  the 
next,  a  "  Commentary  on  Acts  "  of  d^)^  pages  ;  and  the  third  a  "  Book 
of  Common  Prayer"  (Church  of  England),  containing  561  pages. 
The  books,  too,  are  largely  of  what  might  be  called  the  Sabbath- 
school  variety,  and,  although  suited  to  our  people  while  they  remain 
babes  in  Christ,  are  ill  adapted  to  lead  them  on  to  a  high  degree  of 
religious  intelligence  and  Christian  manhood. 

But  a  beginning  has  been  made,  and  we  may  hope  that,  as  the  years 
roll  on,  our  Punjabi  Christians  will  not  only  inherit  the  literary  pro- 
ductions of  the  past  but  also  acquire  many  and  valuable  additions  to  their 
stock  of  published  works  and  show  the  benefit  derived  therefrom  by  a 
marked  advance  in  every  grace. 

*  The  receipts  from  the  sale  of  vernacular  books  by  the  Punjab  Religious  Book 
Society,  ^ince  the  year  1884,  has  averaged  about  10,000  rupees  yearly  ;  from  all  kinds 
of  books,  about  20,000  rupees  per  annum. 


/^^  i^f/l, 


CROCODILE. 


CHAPTER   XXVI 

ECCLESIASTICAL    DEVELOPMENT  AND  MATURITY— I 

Financial  Self-support — Extreme  Rarity  in  Mission  Lands — Apparent  Exceptions — 
Madagascar — Missions  of  the  C.  M.  S.  and  S.  P.  G. — Japan — The  Sandwich 
Islands — A  Burning  Question — Our  Own  Mission  Like  Others  Generally — 
Churches  Not  Financially  Self-sustaining — Efforts  and  Progress  Made — Reme- 
dies Proposed — Lessening  Salaries — Increasing  Contributions — Have  Missions 
Started  Wrong? — Poverty  of  the  Native  Church — How  this  May  Be  Remedied 
— By  Education,  Industrial  Training  and  Agricultural  Settlements — Their 
Drawbacks — By  Church  Growth  Especially  Among  the  Rich — Practical  Sug- 
gestions— Neighboring  Missions. 

jOW  we  come  to  the  most  difficult  and  discouraging  part  of 
our  subject — namely,  ecclesiastical  development  and  matu- 
rity— by  which  is  rneant  not  only  cliurch  organization  and 
self-support,  but  also  the  establishment  in  every  particular 
of  a  self-governing,  self-propagating  religious  body.  All  heretofore 
mentioned  under  the  head  of  evangelism  and  Christian  training  is  pre- 
liminary to  this  and  has  this  for  its  great  object  and  aim  ;  and  without 
securing  this  end  Christian  Missions  can  be  said  to  accomplish  little  or 
no  permanent  good.  A  few  souls,  indeed,  may  be  saved  (and  this  it 
must  be  admitted  is  an  important  matter),  but,  unless  the  foundation 
(310) 


MJSSIOA'  CHURCHES  IN  LEADING-STRINGS  311 

of  a  perpetual  work  can  be  laid,  the  movement  becomes  largely  a  fail- 
ure. It  does  not  strike  its  roots  deep  down  into  the  soil.  It  is  liable 
to  be  swept  away  by  blasts  of  persecution.  It  needs  to  be  constantly 
fostered,  coddled,  protected  by  outside  influences.  It  gives  no  prom- 
ise of  bearing  abundant,  unintermittent  and  unceasing  fruit.* 

And  yet  this  is  just  the  condition  of  most  Protestant  Missions  at  the 
present  time.  Sporadic  cases  of  fn.ancially  self-sustaining  congrega- 
tions may  indeed  be  pointed  out  in  connection  with  the  operations  of 
various  missionary  bodies.  There  have  been  a  few  such  among  the 
Karens  of  Burma,  the  Cingalese  Christians  of  the  American  Board 
and  the  Mahrattas  of  Southern  India — to  say  nothing  of  other  lands 
where  the  gospel  has  been  propagated.  And,  what  is  more  encourag- 
ing still,  two  or  three  countries,  such  as  Japan,  may  be  named  where 
native  churches  have  been  combining  together  on  an  independent 
basis,  declaring  their  impatience  of  the  necessity  of  foreign  help,  and 
making  rapid  strides  towards  the  goal  which  we  are  contemplating ; 
while  the  Sandwich  Islands  in  1863  announced  their  ability  to  do 
without  the  oversight  of  the  American  Board  and  aspired  themselves  to 
a  place  among  the  Christian  nations  of  the  world. 

But  such  instances  as  these  are  rare  indeed.  At  least  ninety-five 
per  cent,  of  all  the  Christians  and  the  churches  in  strictly  mission 
lands  are  still  in  the  leading-strings  of  those  to  whom  they  were  in- 
debted for  their  first  knowledge  of  the  gospel — financially  dependent 
upon  them,  and  intellectually,  morally,  spiritually  and  ecclesiastically 
under  their  guidance  and  subject  to  their  will. 

Madagascar  has  been  called  "  the  crown  of  the  London  Missionary 
Society  "  and  "  the  miracle  of  modern  missions,"  and,  as  an  example 
of  rapid  and  general  conversion  to  Christianity,  it  can  be  cited  as  one 
of  the  most  remarkable  instances  of  modern  times.  "The  Hovas," 
it  is  said,  "have  been  a  nominally  Christian  nation  for  thirty  years." 
They  are  said  to  have  a  well-developed  Christian  church,  with  1061 
native  ordained  ministers;  5870  native  preachers;  1300  congregations; 
63,020  church  members,  and  74,428  school  pupils  ;  and  Christianity  has 
been  officially  proclaimed  to  be  the  law  of  the  land.f  Yet  these  Hovas 
still  cost  the  London  Missionary  Society  "  many  thousands  a  year  "  and 
the  expense  required  for  mission  work  among  them  "shows  no  signs 
of  diminution." 

The  Church  Missionary  Society  of  England  was  organized  in  April, 

*  See  pp.  148,  149  and  261.  f  The  statistics  are  those  given  in  1894. 


312  LIFE  AND  WORK  IN  INDIA 

1799,  and  is  now  said  to  be  the  largest  in  the  world.  Its  operations 
extend  to  various  parts  of  Africa,  Central  Asia,  China,  Japan,  New 
Zealand,  North  America  and  the  North  Pacific  ;  and  in  India  it  sur- 
passes every  other  organization  working  there  in  the  number  of  its 
laborers  and  converts.  It  embraces  altogether  844  European  mission- 
aries, 347  of  whom  are  ordained  ;  312  native  and  Eurasian  clergy  and 
4876  native  lay  teachers.  It  reports  54,561  native  communicants, 
200,484  adherents,  2025  schools  and  81,648  jjupils.  These  are  found 
in  324  stations  scattered  widely  over  the  two  hemispheres.*  And 
almost  equal  to  this  association  in  the  extent  of  its  operations  is  the 
"Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts,"  which 
was  incorporated  June  16,  1701,  became  a  distinctly  missionary 
agency  in  182 1  and  now  forms  the  other  great  arm  of  the  Church  of 
England  in  her  efforts  to  evangelize  the  world. 

And  yet,  at  a  late  Anglican  conference  of  Missions  in  London,  the 
Rev.  R.  P.  Ashe,  formerly  of  Uganda,  is  reported  to  have  stated  as  a 
sad  fact  that,  "  after  a  century  of  effort  and  the  expenditure  of  many 
noble  lives,  as  well  as  of  some  millions  of  money,  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land (extraordinary  to  say)  has  signally  failed  to  establish  one  solitary 
or  single  native  church  in  any  part  of  the  world — that  is  to  say,  a 
church  self-governed,  self-supporting,  and  expanding,  or  exhibiting 
any  true  signs  of  vitality  as  a  church." 

And  substantially  the  same  thing  may  be  said  of  almost  every  other 
denomination  and  society  in  the  mission  field. 

Even  the  sporadic  cases  of  congregational  self-support  (in  a  finan- 
cial sense),  to  which  we  have  already  referred,  are  in  many  instances 
more  apparent  than  real.  Tliey  often  lack  permanence  of  pecuniary 
strength.  The  churches  in  question  are  continually  oscillating  be- 
tvveen  a  condition  of  dependence  and  one  of  independence.  Fre- 
quently, too,  foreigners,  and  even  missionaries,  figure  most  promi- 
nently on  their  subscription  lists,  as  has  been  true,  for  instance,  in  our 
Sialkot  church  ;  while,  in  almost  all  cases,  much  of  their  moral  and 
their  religious  strength  is  derived  from  their  mission  surroundings.  It 
is  doubtful  whether  any  of  them,  or  even  an  association  of  them, 
would  be  able  to  stand  alone. 

Nor  are  the  beginnings  of  independence  as  exhibited  in  Japan,  or 
the  Sandwich  Islands,  free  from  mistrust.  In  respect  to  doctrine,  dis- 
cipline, legislation  and  elevated  religious  life,  the  native  churches  of 
*  Statistics  published  in  1894. 


SANDWICH  ISLANDERS  AND    THE   HOVAS  313 

Japan  show  serious  defects,  and  sometimes  appear  to  be  almost  on  the 
verge  of  shipwreck — and  that,  too,  while  still  surrounded,  and  to  some 
extent  supported,  by  missionary  forces.  It  has  also  been  found  neces- 
sary for  the  American  Board  to  continue  assisting  the  churches  of  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  not  only  by  grants  of  money  in  aid  of  their  various 
enterprises,  but  also  (since  1877)  by  furnishing  a  superintendent  for 
their  Training  School.  This  has  been  owing  partly,  no  doubt,  to  the 
rapid  decrease  of  the  native  population.  But  one  of  the  revelations 
made  by  the  late  establishment  of  a  new  government  there  is  the  small 
.progress  made  by  Christianity  among  many  of  the  people  of  that  archi- 
pelago and  the  difficulty  experienced  in  preventing,  not  merely  the 
restoration  of  a  corrupt  monarchy,  but  even  a  relapse  into  heathenism 
itself.  Were  it  not  for  the  descendants  of  missionary  agents  and 
foreign  settlers  residing  at  Honolulu  and  other  points  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, history  might  be  compelled  to  revise  its  decision  in  regard  to 
that  region,  and  point  to  it,  not  so  much  as  a  "  miracle  of  missions," 
as  a  conspicuous  example  of  the  failure,  or  at  least  the  degeneracy,  of 
missions. 

What  is  the  reason  of  all  this?  Why  can  we  not  have  results  similar 
to  those  which  followed  the  work  of  the  apostles?  Have  we  not  been 
operating  on  a  wrong  basis,  or  in  a  wrong  direction  ?  Cannot  some 
remedy  be  applied  to  the  present  widespread  malady?  Cannot  the 
danger  of  atrophy  be  checked  ?  Cannot  the  infantile  state  of  mission- 
ary churches  be  soon  changed  into  that  of  manhood  ?  These  are  press- 
ing questions — questions,  too,  which  are  engaging  the  serious  attention 
of  earnest  minds  in  every  direction. 

Speaking  of  the  condition  of  the  Hova  Christians  in  Madagascar,  a 
venerable  Congregational  minister  of  England  asks,  "  Is  that  as  it 
should  be  ?  I  know  what  will  be  said  of  the  instability  of  new  con- 
verts, and  truly  said  ;  but,  admitting  the  need  of  European  guidance 
at  the  beginning,  can  there  be  the  same  need  now?  To  say  that  if 
left  to  itself  the  native  church  would  lapse  into  heathenism  is  really  to 
say  that  Christianity  is  a  foreign  exotic  in  Madagascar,  which  can  only 
live  under  shelter  and  protection,  than  which  no  more  damaging  con- 
fession could  be  made.  What  I  plead  for  is  this  :  that  the  whole  mis- 
sionary question  needs  to  be  reconsidered.  Besides  contributions  and 
more  earnest  prayers,  we  want  the  highest  statesmanship  applied  to  the 
difficulties  that  thicken  about  us." 

And,  referring  to  the  "tremendous  indictment"  of  "  Church  Mis^ 


314  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

sions  "  by  Mr.  Ashe  (dready  quoted),  a  newspaper  says,  "We  very 
much  wish  that  Mr.  Ashe  had  been  able  to  explain  at  greater  length  what 
he  really  meant.  We  are  all  assured  he  fully  recognizes  the  extent  and 
reality  and  vitality  of  missionary  success.  His  words  apply  to  the  one 
point — a  point  of  great  importance — the  absence  of  any  case  of  entire 
and  absolute  native  church  organization.  Our  method  is  certainly 
more  or  less  unlike  that  adopted  by  the  apostles."  Another  paper, 
too,  speaking  of  the  same  failure,  says,  "It  is  surely  a  serious  reflection 
on  the  methods  on  which  work  has  been  done.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
a  wide  difference  exists  between  many  or  most  of  the  lands  in  which 
Christ  is  now  preached  to  the  heathen  and  the  countries  in  which  He 
was  originally  preached  ;  but  still  there  are  old  lands,  such  as  India 
and  China,  in  which  it  ought  to  be  possible  to  form  self-governing 
and  self-supporting  churches." 

Our  own  India  Mission,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  exhibits  the  same  defect 
in  this  particular  that  is  exhibited  by  most  other  Missions,  and  part  of 
our  duty  now  is  to  present  and  discuss,  in  the  light  of  our  own  special 
experience,  the  jiroblem  thus  forced  upon  our  attention. 

Ecclesiastical  maturity,  in  the  large  sense  in  which  we  now  use  the 
term,  embraces  three  things — pecuniary  self-support,  thorough  church 
organization  and  self-governing  power. 

In  each  of  these  respects,  however,  we  have  to  confess  a  great  de- 
ficiency. Our  native  church  is  far  from  being  financially  self-sustain- 
ing ;  four-fifths  or  five-sixths  of  our  people  are  outside  of  regularly  or- 
ganized congregations;  and  our  supply  of  well  qualified  native  minis- 
ters, pastors  and  elders,  comes  deplorably  short  of  that  which  is  neces- 
sary to  thoroughly  man  and  carry  on  independently  and  properly  the 
work  of  the  field. 

That  considerable  effort  has  been  made  to  instruct  our  members  in 
regard  to  the  great  principles  of  liberality  and  secure  their  fulfillment 
of  the  obligation  to  give  for  religious  and  benevolent  objects  as  the  Lord 
hath  prospered  them,  is  undoubtedly  true.  Sermons  have  been  preached 
upon  the  subject ;  conferences  have  been  held  having  this  as  one  of 
their  objects ;  resolutions  have  been  passed  by  the  Mission,  and  by  our 
ecclesiastical  bodies,  not  only  expressing  what  we  regard  as  Scriptural 
views  of  Christian  beneficence,  but  urging  people  to  do  what  they  can 
to  support  and  spread  the  gospel ;  aid  has  been  offered  congregations 
by  the  Mission,  according  to  a  sliding  scale,  on  condition  that  the  re- 
mainder of  a  pastor's  salary  be  raised  by  the  people  themselves;  mis- 


PROGRESS    TOWARDS  SELF-SUPPORT  315 

sion  superintendents  and  others  have  helped  to  manage  church  sub- 
scription lists  and  done  what  they  could,  not  only  to  secure  signatures, 
but  also  to  see  that  promised  dues  are  paid.  A  Permanent  Committee 
of  Sialkot  Presbytery  was  also  appointed  in  1883  to  take  the  general 
oversight  of  this  whole  work,  issue  tracts  and  hold  conferences  on  the 
subject  of  Christian  beneficence  and  bring  the  members  of  the  church  up 
to  a  higher  standard  of  liberality. 

And,  as  already  indicated,*  some  progress  has  been  made  in  accom- 
plishing the  end  aimed  at  in  these  efforts.  Every  settled  congrega- 
tion gives  something  for  the  support  of  its  pastor  ;  and  for  several  years 
the  Sialkot  church,  through  the  help  of  foreign  members  and  adherents, 
has  been  self-sustaining.  Many  vacant  charges  and  unorganized  con- 
gregations have  paid  part  of  the  expense  of  religious  work  within  their 
own  bounds.  Church  buildings  and  schoolhouses,  in  almost  every 
instance,  have  owed  their  erection  partly  to  contributions  of  labor  or 
money  from  Christians  in  their  neighborhood.  Some  congregations 
and  local  societies  have  supported  workers  in  the  evangelistic  field  and 
thus  aided  the  general  cause  of  missions.  The  expense  of  entertaining 
delegates  at  Presbytery,  Synod  and  conferences  of  various  kinds  has 
been  borne  chiefly  without  any  draft  upon  a  foreign  treasury.  Schemes 
of  an  extended  character,  resembling  the  Sustentation  Funds  of  Scot- 
tish Churches,  have  been  started,  pushed  and  supported  with  enthusiasm 
by  natives.  Contributions  to  the  Quarter  Centennial  Fund  of  the  Ameri- 
can Church,  to  the  Foreign  Board,  to  Freedmen's  IMissions,  to  special 
work  in  the  Egyptian  Mission,  and  to  other  outside  objects,  have  at 
times  been  made  with  great  heartiness  by  members  of  the  India  Church. 
In  1886  the  Rev.  I.  D.  Shahbaz  alone  sent  thirty  rupees  to  the  treasury 
of  our  Foreign  Board.  In  March,  1889,  after  a  great  calamity  had  be- 
fallen their  suffering  brethren  in  China  and  a  strong  appeal  for  help 
had  been  made  to  the  people  of  India,  our  Sialkot  church  gave  180 
rupees  to  the  Chinese  Relief  Fund. 

But,  after  all,  the  advancement  made  by  our  India  Church  towards  a 
condition  of  self-support  has  been  very  slight  indeed.  The  salaries  of 
the  seven  native  ministers  now  f  connected  with  it  vary  from  thirty 
to  120    rupees    a   month,    while   several   of  the   brethren    get  eight 

*See  pp.  195,  251  and   253. 

f  This  and  the  following  pages  were  written  before  the  Rev.  G.  L.  Thakur  Das 
left  our  Mission.  It  has  not  been  thought  necessary  to  modify  the  verbiage  to  suit 
the  conditions  now  existing.      Probably,  too,  Thakur  will  return  to  us. 


316  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

rupees  extra  as  a  special  monthly  allowance,  and  the  total  paid 
them  amounted  to  380  or  390  rupees  per  mensem,  or  an  aggregate  of 
about  4600  rupees  per  annum.  But  the  sum  of  the  contributions  made 
by  natives  to  all  the  various  branches  of  Christian  work  carried  on 
within  our  bounds,  amounts,  as  reported  in  our  statistics,  to  an  average 
6f  less  than  1700  rupees  a  year,*  or  very  little  more  than  is  necessary  to 
pay  one-third  of  the  salaries  and  allowances  of  our  native  ministers. 
And  yet  the  sum  paid  these  seven  ordained  men  is  but  a  small  part  of 
the  amount  given  to  all  our  212  native  workers.  Probably  the  Chris- 
tian teachers  in  our  different  schools  alone  get  three  times  as  much  as 
is  paid  to  our  ministers,  while  the  wages  of  our  unordained  village 
preachers,  licentiates,  theological  students,  and  zenana  workers,  swells 
many  fold  more  the  outlay  of  money  made  by  the  Mission.  Add  to 
this  also  the  expense  of  our  various  bookshops,  hospitals,  dispensaries, 
schools,  publications  and  church  buildings,  and  it  can  easily  be 
imagined  how  far  short  the  funds  contributed  by  natives  come  of  bear- 
ing all  the  expenses  incurred  by  our  missionary  efforts,  as  at  present 
carried  on.  Suppose  that  foreign  missionaries  should  now  abandon 
the  field  altogether  and  the  cost  of  supporting  them  be  entirely  dropped, 
probably  not  more  than  three  per  cent,  of  the  remaining  expense  would 
be  borne  by  the  gifts  of  the  native  church — if  its  past  liberality  is  to 
be  accepted  as  any  guide  to  what  it  would  be  after  such  a  step  had  been 
taken. 

And  even  if  there  was  a  reconstruction  of  methods,  so  as  to  give 
them  a  closer  resemblance  to  the  machinery  of  American  and  British 
churches,  much  the  same  disproportion  would  still  exist  between  the 
money  which  is  given  and  what  would  be  required.  Suppose  that  each 
of  our  sixty-nine  organized  and  unorganized  congregations  and  mis- 
sion centers  had  a  pastor,  or  a  stated  supply,  our  institutions  were  prop- 
erly manned,  our  literary  work  fully  carried  on,  our  aggressive  move- 
ments on  an  ungodly  world  kept  up,  and  full  provision  were  made  for 
substitutes  in  the  case  of  the  sickness  or  the  death  of  laborers,  at 
least    100    ministers   or  licentiates   would  be  demanded ;  f    and   the 

*  In  1893,  1384  rupees  were  reported;  in  1894,  1322  rupees.  See  table  in 
Appendix. 

f  The  Mission  in  a  plan  of  proposed  help  which  was  adopted  for  consideration  in 
the  early  part  of  the  year  1893  decided  that  "  not  more  than  six  villages  should  be 
included  in  one  pastorate."  According  to  this  scheme  fully  93  ministers  would  be 
needed  for  pastoral  settlements  alone  in  our  557  villages,  or  24  more  than  are  in- 
cluded in  the  above  calculation. 


STANDARD   FOR    THE   NATIVE   MINISTRY  317 

salaries  of  this  number,  according  to  the  rates  now  given,  would 
amount  to  60,000  or  65,000  rupees  (^18,000  or  $20,000) — that  is, 
to  thirty  or  forty  times  the  sum  total  of  native  contributions  usually 
reported.  Nor  is  anthing  said  in  this  calculation  of  the  money  which 
would  be  required  in  church  erection,  repairs,  and  Christian  benevo- 
lence, or  of  the  many  other  expenses  which  are  always  incurred  by  an 
active,  zealous,  high-spirited  organization. 

But  might  not  the  salaries  of  ministers,  and  perhaps  some  other  items 
of  expenditure,  be  materially  lessened  ?     Possibly  they  might. 

Some  think  that  a  lower  standard  for  the  ministry  than  that  which 
we  have  set  might  be  adopted  and  a  cheaper  class  of  laborers  thus  be 
secured.  They  would  be  willing  to  ordain  men  who  had  only  just 
reached  the  Upper  Primary  standard  of  secular  education,*  or  even 
men  below  this,  in  order  to  lessen  the  difficulty  of  congregational  self- 
support.  But  this,  in  the  writer's  opinion,  would  be  a  very  disastrous, 
and  almost  a  suicidal,  policy.  It  would  degrade  the  native  ministry, 
keep  the  common  members  of  the  church  at  a  low  point  of  Scripture 
knowledge,  make  our  religious  work  contemptible  in  the  eyes  of  a 
large  part  of  the  community,  prevent  it  from  being  as  aggressive  and 
influential  as  it  should  be  and  hinder  greatly  the  progress  of  the  church 
there  towards  a  condition  of  ecclesiastical  maturity.  A  Middle  School 
standard  f  for  ordinary  ministers  and  at  least  a  College  Entrance  stand- 
ard |  for  some  more  highly  educated  clergymen,  to  be  professors, 
authors,  editors,  pastors  of  important  churches  and  qualified  champions 
of  the  faith  :  these  together  form  as  low  a  standard  as  we  can  afford  to 
establish  for  the  ambassadors  of  Christ  in  such  a  land  as  India,  es- 
pecially if  the  church  there  is  ever  expected  to  carry  on  its  work  as  an 
independent,  self-governing  and  self-propagating  body.§  "The 
priest's  lips  should  keep  knowledge." 

While,  however,  the  salaries  of  native  ministers  may  not  be  lessened 
by  lowering  the  qualifications  of  the  ministerial  class  as  a  whole,  they 
probably  can   be  diminished  in  the  course  of  time  by  a  change  of 

*  Five  years  above  ABC,  but  five  years  below  College  Entrance. 

f  Two  years  below  College  Entrance. 

J  These  are  the  two  grades  which  for  many  years  we  have  had  in  India.  One  we 
call  the  lower  grade,  the  other  the  evangelical. 

\  It  is  not  even  likely  that  our  American  Church  would  ever  be  willing  to  grant 
autonomy  to  her  Indian  dependency  if  the  ministry  of  the  latter  were  allowed  to 
sink  to  a  lower  grade. 


318 


LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 


custom.  The  law  of  demand  and  supply  of  course  rules  in  the  minis- 
terial market  as  it  does  in  markets  of  other  kinds  of  labor,  and  the 
wages  now  given  is  simply  the  result  of  that  law.  But  as  more  Chris- 
tians become  educated,  as  the  number  of  theological  students,  licen- 
tiates and  ministers  increases,  in  short  as  the  market  becomes  better 

stocked,  we  may  expect 
salaries  to  go  down. 
It  is  probable,  too,  that 
native  preachers  them- 
selves, in  order  to  se- 
cure greater  ecclesiasti- 
cal independence,  will 
manifest  more  and 
more  of  a  self-sacrific- 
ing spirit  and  cheer- 
fully accept  wages 
wliich  may  be  lower 
than  wliat  their  neigh- 
bors and  predecessors 
have  been  accustomed 
to  receive. 

The  hope,  however, 
of  such  a  reduction  as 
some  appear  to  expect 
must  certainly  be  aban- 
doned. Good  Chris- 
tian laborers  are  in 
great  demand  and  must 
continue  to  be  so  for 
a  long  time  to  come. 
It  is  impossible  now  to 
get  enough  of  them  at  a  reasonable  salary  to  take  the  place  of  heathen 
teachers  in  our  mission  schools ;  and  in  evangelistic  work,  the  super- 
intendent is  often  compelled  to  employ  persons  of  doubtful  or 
indifferent  merit.  The  field  for  Christian  labor,  too,  is  constantly 
enlarging.  Zion  is  extending  her  borders.  New  stations  are  estab- 
lishing and  new  openings  for  faithful  workers  are  multiplying  at  a 
rapid  rate.  Those  who  are  qualified  to  preach  the  gospel  with 
acceptability  and  efficiency  must,  therefore,  be  able  for  many  years 


FLYING    FOXES. 


SALARIES   OF  NATIVE   MINISTERS  319 

hereafter  to  command  high  wages.'  Nor  is  it  probable  tliat  employers, 
who  in  this  case  are  missionaries  and  native  churches,  will  form  a  com- 
bination for  the  purpose  of  establishing  lower  salaries.  To  some  ex- 
tent pressure  may  be  brought  to  bear  upon  ministerial  employees  and 
little  by  little  the  reduction  of  their  wages  secured  ;  but  efforts  of  this 
character  smack  so  much  of  the  dishonorable  methods  which  are  used 
by  rings  in  some  departments  of  secular  business,  and  seem  so  much 
like  devices  of  oppression,  that  they  would  undoubtedly  do  more  harm 
than  good.  And,  besides,  there  is  a  point  below  which  we  ourselves 
should  not  desire  native  salaries  to  go.  A  certain  amount  of  good 
food  and  clothing  and  religious  literature  and  comfort  is  absolutely 
necessary  in  order  that  "  the  man  of  God  "  may  do  justice  to  himself, 
his  family,  his  parishioners  and  the  church  at  large.  It  must  be  re- 
membered, too,  that  a  Christian  minister  cannot  follow  the  patriarchal 
style  of  living,  or  adopt  some  of  the  other  economical  expedients 
which  prevail  among  Hindus  and  Muhammadans,  and  hence  needs 
more  vaoxxty  Xk\?cc\  pundits  ox  maulvies  to  maintain  a  worldly  position 
corresponding  to  that  which  they  hold. 

But  granting  that  a  considerable  reduction  could  be  made  in  minis- 
terial salaries,  supposing  that  they  should  be  cut  down  one-half  or  even 
two-thirds  (an  almost  violent  hypothesis),  the  present  contributions  of 
the  native  church  would  still  not  support  more  than  five  or  ten  per 
cent,  of  the  ordained  preachers,  that,  without  the  assistance  of  the  mis- 
sionaries, would  be  necessary  to  properly  carry  on  our  work  ;  while 
education,  church  erection,  publication  and  contingent  expenses  would 
still  remain  unprovided  for. 

But  cannot  the  amount  of  contributions  received  from  natives  be 
increased?  Yes;  I  suppose  it  can.  There  has  not  heretofore  been 
that  regular  system,  that  general  co-operation,  that  wise  leadership, 
that  persistent  effort,  that  constant  instruction,  that  hearty  stimulus  in 
regard  to  this  matter  which  there  ought  to  be.  Movements  have  been 
too  spasmodic,  circumscribed,  mechanical  and  inharmonious,  to  reach 
the  highest  limit  of  possible  success.  Native  Christians,  too,  in  many 
cases,  dislike  the  general  course  which  has  heretofore  been  pursued  by 
Missions  and  missionaries,  and  have  become  so  soured  and  disgusted 
that  they  cannot  be  induced  to  give  as  they  would  otherwise  do.  A 
prominent  native  member  of  another  denomination,  one  high  up  in  the 
Civil  Service,  was  once  approached  by  two  foreigners  with  inquiries  in 
regard  to  the  reasons  why  he  and  his  brethren  do  not  furnish  more  pe- 


320  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

cuniary  assistance  to  the  work  of  the  Lord  which  is  going  on  around 
them,  and  in  reply  made  remarks  substantially  as  follows:  "This  is  a 
delicate  question,  and  I  wish  you  had  gone  to  some  one  else  for  the 
answer.  Only  this  I  would  say,  We  do  not  give  liberally  because  we 
do  not  like  mission  methods.  I  was  once  in  mission  service,  but  when 
I  saw  the  way  that  missionaries  treat  the  natives  I  concluded  to  aban- 
don it.  It  was  a  hard  struggle,  however,  and  now  I  do  not  give  liber- 
ally to  their  work  because  I  do  not  like  their  methods.  The  natives 
have  no  chance.  So  when  collections  are  taken  up  I  only  contribute 
enough  to  get  the  plate  passed  by."  This  man,  although  acknowl- 
edged to  be  a  good  Christian  in  every  other  respect,  was  supposed  to 
give  only  about  one  per  cent,  of  his  large  income  to  religious  and 
charitable  objects.  And  similar  to  his  are  the  feelings  and  the  practice 
of  many  of  his  class.  Unless,  therefore, we  deny  altogether  the  sincer- 
ity of  such  persons  in  explaining  their  own  illiberality,  it  must  be  ad- 
mitted that  a  modification  of  the  present  policy  and  the  spirit  which 
have  often  characterized  mission  work  would,  without  doubt,  make  a 
great  difference  in  the  condition  of  the  treasury  of  the  native  church. 

But,  conceding  the  most  that  could  be  reasonably  expected  from 
such  a  change,  contributions  would  doubtless  fall  short  of  what  is  nec- 
essary to  run  all  the  machinery  of  an  independent,  self-governing, 
aggressive  ecclesiastical  body. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  our  people,  as  a  general  rule,  are  among 
the  poorest  of  the  poor  in  that  indigent  land.  It  is  probable  that,  on 
an  average,  the  families  in  our  church  do  not  receive  a  constant  income 
of  more  than  four  or  five  rupees  a  month,  that  is,  less  than  two  dollars. 
Supposing  then  that  the  number  of  these  families  is  4000  (a  large 
estimate)  their  total  income  would  therefore  not  exceed  16,000  or 
20,000  rupees  a  month.  One-tenth  of  this  would  be  1600,  or  2000, 
rupees ;  and  one-tenth  of  a  year's  income  would  be  from  20,000  to 
24,000  rupees,  or  about  7500  dollars.  Even  imagining  then  that  all 
gave  tithes,  and  that  all  gave  all  their  tithes  for  ecclesiastical  objects, 
there  would  still  be  a  large  deficit  in  the  church  treasury — too  large  a 
deficit  to  be  covered  by  what  they  would  probably  receive  from  their 
heathen  neighbors  or  their  Christian  rulers. 

Nor  could  all  be  expected  to  adopt  the  tithe  system.  The  Chris- 
tians of  England  and  America  .come  far  short  of  giving  according  to 
this  standard.  Even  American  ministers  and  elders  do  not  alwa3'S  fol- 
low this  rule.     Perhaps  foreign  missionaries  them.selves  may  sometimes 


LIBERALITY  OF  HINDUS  AND   MOSLEMS  321 

be  found  among  the  delinquent,  ones.  How  then  can  we  hope  that 
converts  from  heathenism  will  all,  at  once,  rise  to  the  standard  pro- 
posed upon  this  subject?  A  great  many  will,  doubtless,  give  little  or 
nothing  ;  the  majority  will  contribute  as  Christians  of  other  countries 
generally  do ;  only  a  few  will,  at  first,  "give  tithes  of  all  that  they 
possess."  If  an  average  of  four  or  five  per  cent,  of  the  income  of  the 
people  could  be  constantly  secured  for  religious  and  charitable  objects 
we  should  consider  their  liberality  hopeful — almost  phenomenal ;  and 
if  three-fourths  of  this  found  its  way  into  the  congregational  or  the  de- 
nominational treasury,  those  interested  in  the  self-support  of  native 
churches  might  feel  greatly  encouraged. 

True,  some  might  be  disposed  to  judge  them  by  a  standard  different 
from  that  which  prevails  among  Occidental  Christians,  and  expect 
them  to  give  according  to  the  rules  which  guide  their  Hindu  or  Mu- 
hammadan  neighbors. 

Strange  as  it  may  seem  at  first  view,  these  heathen  people  surpass  the 
followers  of  Jesus  generally  in  their  measure  of  religious  liberality. 

According  to  a  Muhammadan  of  high  official  standing  in  Gujran- 
wala,  the  Moslems  of  the  Punjab  are  required  by  rule  to  give  twelve 
per  cent,  of  their  income  to  the  support  of  their  religion  ;  and  though 
tlie  very  poor  are  practically  exempt  from  this  law,  many  others  are 
said  to  live  up  to  it.  Nor  does  this  include  all  their  contributions. 
Much  is  also  expended  in  the  form  of  marriage  and  funeral  fees  ;  and 
more  still  in  building  the  tombs  of  saints — to  say  nothing  of  the 
bakhshish  which  is  given  to  beggars  and  fakirs. 

Nor  are  Hindus  behind  the  Muhammadans  in  this  matter,  although 
more  irregular  and  fitful,  perhaps,  in  their  liberality.  Offerings  to  the 
gods  are  common  and  frequent  among  them,  just  as  are  also  gifts  to 
Brahmans,  family  priests  {purohits),  j'ogies,  fakirs  and  others — while 
every  faithful  Hindu  spends  a  large  amount  of  money  in  keeping  the 
feasts  and  performing  the  special  ceremonies  required  by  his  sacred 
books.  Some  also  before  they  die  build  a  temple,  a  shrine,  a  tank,  a 
drinking  fountain,  or  some  other  object  of  supposed  public  benefit, 
which  will  perpetuate  their  names,  and,  as  a  "good  work,"  add  to 
their  hope  of  reaching  the  goal  of  salvation,  as  they  understand  it. 
Frequently,  too,  Hindus  receive  needy  brethren  into  their  families 
and  care  for  them.  A  Brahman  Head  Master  of  the  Gujranwala  High 
School,  who  afterwards  became  a  Christian,  thus  adopted  three  boys 
into  his  household  and  gave  them  a  good  education. 
21 


322  I^TFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

As  therefore  people  professing  highly  corrupt  forms  of  Christianity 
frequently  surpass  those  who  are  truly  evangelical  in  the  extent  of  the 
sacrifices  which  they  are  ready  to  make  in  behalf  of  their  faith  (per- 
haps because  of  the  stronger  "  legal  bias  "  which  they  possess)  so  do 
these  heathen  and  deistical  Muhammadans  surpass  the  majority  of 
Christians  of  every  name  in  reference  to  the  same  matter,  and  probably 
for  the  same  reason.  Salvation  *'  by  faith  without  works,"  for  the 
present  at  least,  is  outshone  in  its  liberality  by  salvation  grounded 
on  self-righteousness. 

It  is  hardly  reasonable,  however,  to  expect  the  native  Christians  of 
India,  although  they  are  surrounded  by  Hindus  and  Muhammadans, 
and  many  of  them  come  from  the  ranks  of  these  people,  to  imitate 
them  in  the  freeness  of  their  contributions  to  religious  objects,  and 
thus  become  exceptions  among  the  adherents  of  their  adopted  faith, 
however  desirable  such  a  course  might  be.  Not  only  have  they  an 
aversion  to  almost  everything  which  is  characteristic  of  heathenism  and, 
on  conversion,  find  mission  work  supported  in  an  entirely  different  way 
from  their  old  faith,  but  they  also  enter  the  Christian  fold  poor,  and 
feel  more  like  being  objects  of  charity  than  dispensers  of  charity.  The 
most  that  we  can  hope  from  them  is  that  they  follow  in  the  footsteps 
of  their  fellow-Christians  elsewhere  and  give  to  the  Lord  as  above 
indicated. 

But  the  amount  thus  obtained,  as  every  one  who  makes  the  calcula- 
tion can  easily  see,  is  still  only  the  minor  part  of  what  would  be 
needed  merely  to  support  the  native  ministry  which  would  be  required 
to  carry  on  our  work  (provided  they  were  left  to  do  so  without  foreign 
help),  to  say  nothing  of  the  expense  of  the  rest  of  the  ecclesiastical 
machinery. 

Should  we  take  account  of  pastors  only  among  the  ministers,  and 
adopt  the  Mission's  estimate  of  ninety-one  as  the  smallest  number  that 
could  properly  man  our  congregations,  forty  or  forty-five  families  might 
be  reckoned  to  each  pastoral  settlement,  with  their  monthly  income, 
for  all  purposes,  of  i6o  or  220  rupees  ;  and  even  if  four  per  cent,  of 
this  could  be  made  available  for  pastoral  support,  each  settled  minister 
would  still  receive  only  from  six  to  nine  rupees  a  month — that  is, 
from  one-ninth  to  one-sixth  of  the  average  income  of  our  native  clergy 
in  1894. 

From  every  point  of  view,  therefore,  the  native  church  within  our 
field  seems  at  present  to  be  entirely  incapable  of  pecuniary  self-support. 


REMEDIES  DISCUSSED  323 

Some  are  disposed  to  lay  the  blame  of  this  condition  of  things  upon 
the  policy  which  Missions  have  heretofore  pursued  of  paying  native 
Christian  laborers.  They  claim  that  it  would  have  been  better  not  to 
have  offered  them  any  assistance  whatever  from  mission  funds,  but  to 
have  required  them  from  the  start  to  depend  for  their  support  entirely 
upon  the  contributions  of  their  fellow-countrymen.  They  say  that  the 
present  necessity  of  giving  high  wages  would  in  this  way  have  been 
avoided  altogether.  Others  affirm  that,  while  native  laborers  ought  to 
be  paid  from  foreign  funds,  they  have  always  been  paid  too  much — that 
if  native  ministers  received  the  wages  of  common  carpenters  and  other 
mechanics  in  their  own  neighborhood,  they  would,  comparatively  speak- 
ing, be  put  upon  an  equality  with  ministers  in  our  own  and  other 
Christian  lands,  and  that  the  adoption  of  this  standard  would  speedily 
bring  about  the  result  for  which  we  are  all  working.  Others  again, 
such  as  J.  G.  Shome,  M.  A.,  a  prominent  convert  from  Hinduism  in 
Calcutta,  would  abolish  the  stipendiary  system  altogether,  and,  after 
educating  native  ministers,  would  send  them  forth  without  purse  or 
scrip  and  make  them  virtually  fakirs. 

Much  of  all  this,  however,  appears  to  the  writer  visionary,  impracti- 
cable or  unwise.  The  necessity  and  the  duty  of  paying  mission  helpers 
for  their  services  cannot  be  justly  denied  and  if  the  people  to  whom 
they  minister  cannot,  or  will  not,  do  so,  others  who  have  the  ability  to 
pay  them  ought  to  assume  this  responsibility.  Natives  have  as  much 
right  to  compensation  for  their  work  as  missionaries  themselves  have. 
The  laborer,  whether  white  or  colored,  is  certainly  "  worthy  of  his 
hire."  Perhaps  larger  salaries  have  sometimes  been  paid  than  should 
be  paid  ;  but  the  adoption  of  the  standard  of  pay  which  has  been  set 
for  neighboring  masons,  weavers  or  bricklayers  cannot  be  properly  en- 
forced everywhere,  in  determining  ministerial  wages,  any  more  than 
the  standard  of  wages  set  for  employees  in  government  service  can  be 
used  for  this  purpose.  In  some  countries  one  or  the  other  of  these 
criteria  might  do  well  enough,  but  in  other  countries  neither  ought  to 
be  commended.  The  true  test  in  deciding  what  clergymen's  salaries 
should  be  is  this  :  whatever  may  be  necessary  under  the  circumstances  for 
the  successful  prosecution  of  the  Lord' s  work.  As  for  fakirism,  enough, 
it  is  thought,  has  elsewhere  been  said  to  secure  its  condemnation.* 

While  then  something  may  be  attributed  to  defects  of  policy,  to  the 
scarcity  of  a  native  ministry,  and  especially  to  the  lack  of  proper  tact 

*See  pp.  208-217. 


324  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

and  effort  in  developing  the  liberality  of  the  people,  the  great  cause  of 
the  pecuniary  inability  of  the  native  church  in  our  field  to  carry  on  its 
own  religious  work  in  a  satisfactory  manner  is  really  \\.% poverty. 

How  can  this  be  renriedied  ? 

In  one  of  three  ways :  either  by  increasing  the  power  of  our  people 
to  earn  money,  or  by  adding  to  their  numbers,  or  by  bringing  into 
the  church  men  of  means  and  consecrated  benevolence. 

The  first  of  these  has  been  attempted  by  many  Missions  in  India  as 
a  part  of  their  religious  duty. 

One  method  which  they  have  adopted  in  this  attempt,  and  by  far 
the  most  general  metliod,  is  that  of  education.  By  giving  Christians 
who  were  capable  of  receiving  it  intellectual  training  and  secular 
instruction  they  have  fitted  tliem  for  positions  of  pecuniary  profit 
which  they  could  not  otherwise  have  reached.  Some  have  thus  been 
prepared  for  government  service  and  have  found  permanent,  honorable 
and  lucrative  employment  as  village  officers,  clerks,  civil  engineers, 
apothecaries,  doctors,  tax  collectors,  judges,  police  inspectors  and 
executive  officials  of  various  grades.*  Others  have  been  qualified  for 
the  work  of  teaching  and  have  obtained  good  salaries  in  the  depart- 
ment of  education.  Others  still  have  been  taught  with  special 
reference  to  missionary  work  and  have  secured  a  better  living  as 
preachers  and  colporteurs  than  they  could  have  had  in  their  heredi- 
tary calling. 

Another  method  adopted  for  the  advancement  of  the  people  in 
worldly  prosperity  is  tliat  of  industrial  training.  Some  have  been 
taught  the  arts  of  cooking,  tailoring,  shoemaking,  printing,  bookbind- 
ing, carpentry,  masonry,  and  other  trades,  by  means  of  which  they 
have  been  able  to  get  better  wages  than  they  would  have  got  as 
coolies,  sweepers  or  weavers.  Sometimes  Missions  have  established 
schools  with  particular  reference  to  this  kind  of  training.  Printing, 
publishing  and  tailoring  for  instance,  are  specialties  at  the  Secundra 
Orphanage,  near  Agra;  carpentry,  shoemaking,  tailoring  and  carpet 
weaving  at  Ludhiana;  and  printing  at  Lucknow — ^just  as  in  our  Mis- 
sion we  once  had  an  establishment  for  the  manufacture  of  soap, 
candles,  oil  and  spirits  of  turpentine. 

A  third  method  is  the  establishment  of  agricultural  settlements, 
whither  people  without  land,  or  the  means  of  husbandry,  can  remove, 

*One  Christian  in  the  Punjab  Judiciary  is  said  to  get  now  a  salary  of  from  800 
to  1000  rupees  monthly. 


NOW  NATIVES   CAN  BE   HELPED   IN  BUSINESS 


325 


and  where  they  can  be  supplied  with  every  requisite  for  this  business, 
and  form  not  only  a  self-supporting  but  a  progressive  community. 
Such  a  settlement  has  been  made  by  the  Church  Mission  at  Clarkabad 
in  the  Lahore  District,  and  another  by  the  Scotch  Mission  at  Sialkot. 
This  is  one  of  the  devices  by  which  the  Roman  Catholics  have  also 
endeavored  to  draw  off  our  adherents  and  the  adherents  of  other 
Protestant  Missions  to  their  own  fold.  They  have  the  beginnings  of 
an  agricultural  settlement  on  the  Chenab  Canal  in  West  Gujranwala, 
where  land  can  be  purchased  from  . 
the  government,  at  a  low  figure, 
by  any  one  who  desires  to  use  it 
for  farming  purposes. 

Another  method  proposed  is 
the  formation  of  one  or  more 
native  Christian  regiments  in  the 
British  army,  by  enlisting  in  which 
new  converts  might  secure  honor- 
able employment  and  at  the  same 
time  become  a  bulwark  of  strength 
to  the  Indian  Government. 

And,  in  connection  with  all  such 
efforts,  missionaries  do  what  they 
can  to  get  situations  for  their 
people  and  furnish  them  with  em- 
ployment or  trade.  Many  native 
Christians  are  hired  by  Missions 

themselves  either  in  secular  or  religious  work.  Some  are  accepted  as 
private  servants.  Many  are  given  letters  of  recommendation  through 
which  they  may  obtain  some  kind  of  labor  elsewhere.  The  products 
^  of  their  hands,  too,  when  needed,  find  a  readier  sale  among  mission- 
aries and  their  assistants  than  do  the  manufactures  of  aliens.  For 
many  years,  for  instance,  the  Christian  Training  Institute  was  fur- 
nished with  cloth  by  the  Christian  weavers  of  Zafarwal. 

The  drawbacks  to  these  various  methods,  however,  are  many  and 
noteworthy. 

Candidates  for  government  positions  are  numerous  and  good  posts 
in  the  Civil  Service  are  scarce  ;  and,  for  policy's  sake,  Hindus  and 
Muhammadans,  whose  numbers  in  the  country  predominate  so  largely, 
are  given  the  lion's  share  of  such  favors.     Besides,  Christian  converts 


SILVERSMITH. 


326  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

from  the  low  castes  stand  a  poor  chance  for  appointments  of  any  kind 
when  Brahma  ns  and  Say y ids  are  their  rivals. 

Missions  on  the  other  hand  are  handicapped  by  the  lack  of  means, 
and  cannot,  as  employers,  open  up  a  very  large  market  for  Christian 
workers,  especially  those  of  a  high  grade  ;  and,  more  than  this,  the 
multiplication  of  such  employees  unnecessarily  would  only  rivet  more 
tightly  the  bonds  of  Missions,  prevent  them  from  soon  leaving  the 
field,  and  delay  the  coming  to  the  native  church  of  that  very  ecclesi- 
astical maturity  which  is  aimed  at. 

In  manual  training,  too,  it  is  difficult  to  secure  proper  instructors, 
since  the  freemasonry  of  native  guilds  stands  in  the  way  of  the 
extension  of  the  knowledge  of  their  arts — hereditary  caste  feeling  and 
self-interest  uniting  to  shut  out  all  apprentices  who  belong  to  other 
families  than  their  own.  Nor  are  promising  pupils  abundant.  The 
brightest  boys  we  have  want  higher  work  than  this,  and  would  rather 
labor  with  their  heads  than  with  their  hands.  It  is  only  the  duller 
that  can  be  induced  to  enter  industrial  schools. 

It  is  hard  also  for  Christian  artisans,  however  skillful  and  well- 
taught  they  may  be,  to  get  employment,  even  where  the  contractor, 
or  the  overseer,  is  a  Christian.  People  of  different  religions  do  not 
work  well  together  and  caste  operates  with  all  the  exclusiveness  and 
the  tyranny  of  trade  unions  to  maintain  its  monopolies.  Hindus  and 
Muhammadans,  moreover,  prefer  patronizing  merchants,  shop-keepers, 
and  manufacturers  of  their  own  faith  ;  and,  by  dealing  with  others  in 
some  kinds  of  business,  they  would  actually  violate  the  laws  of  their 
respective  sects.  This  leads  to  practical  boycotting  and  compels  the 
Christian  community  to  depend  mostly  upon  itself  for  patronage  in  its 
various  departments  of  trade,  as  well  as  service.  Only  as  coolies, 
farm  hands,  weavers  and  laborers  of  the  lowest  grades,  or  as  dealers  in 
such  detested  articles  as  hides,  are  its  members  allowed  to  work,  or  do 
business,  with  any  degree  of  freedom.  As  far  as  the  Christian  popula- 
tion generally  is  concerned,  more  respectable  avenues  of  profit  are 
closed  to  their  ambition.  Thus  far,  too,  the  government  has  not 
seen  fit  to  form  regiments  of  native  Christians  ;  nor,  if  military  ser- 
vice were  actually  available,  would  it  promise  to  be  of  any  great  bene- 
fit to  our  people.  What  would  be  gained  socially  and  pecuniarily 
would  be  overbalanced  by  the  unsettled,  wild  and  anti-spiritual  life 
which  usually  characterizes  the  career  of  a  soldier ;  and  even  money 


GROWTH  OF  PECUNIARY  STRENGTH  327 

earned  in  this  way  would  probably  be  wasted  in  extravagance  and  fail 
to  do  the  cause  of  Christ  any  great  good.* 

Until,  then,  Christians  becQme  numerous  enough,  or  rich  enough,  to 
furnish  a  large  amount  of  patronage,  until  they  themselves  can  provide 
employment  for  a  considerable  number  of  mechanics  and  artisans — in 
short,  until  as  a  distinct  part  of  the  community  they  can  stand  alone 
and  be  somewhat  independent  of  the  rest  of  the  population — little 
can  be  expected  of  the  effort  to  elevate  them,  or  at  least  the  mass  of 
them,  to  a  higher  position  in  the  business  or  the  manufacturing  world. 
Indeed,  just  at  present,  the  trend  of  their  worldly  prosperity  is  per- 
haps downward,  rather  than  upward.  Shutting  out  of  the  account  the 
it"^  who  are  in  Government  or  Mission  employ,  the  financial  condition 
of  the  great  body  of  our  people  in  their  present  depressed,  unpopular 
and  ostracized  state,  as  contrasted  with  that  of  the  adherents  of  other 
religions,  is  very  similar  to  that  unhappy  spiritual  condition  which  is 
referred  to  by  our  Saviour  when,  after  saying,  "Whosoever  hath,  to 
him  shall  be  given  and  he  shall  have  more  abundance,"  he  adds, 
"  Whosoever  hath  not,  from  him  shall  be  taken  away  even  that  he 
hath."  Important,  indeed,  is  it  to  start  Christians  in  the  right  direc- 
tion as  they  seek  greater  worldly  prosperity,  instruct  them  as  far  as 
possible  in  useful  trades,  and  thus  prepare  them  for  every  emergency; 
but  the  full  advantage  of  such  a  course  can  be  practically  reached  only 
in  a  somewhat  distant  future,  when  outward  circumstances  have 
changed. 

The  growth  of  the  Christian  population,  however,  will  gradually 
help  the  working-classes  in  their  struggle  for  a  good  livelihood  by  giv- 
ing them  a  more  extensive  patronage  ;  and  when  this  occurs,  tliey  will 
have  also  the  means  of  greater  liberality. 

And  if  this  growth  takes  place  to  some  extent  within  the  bounds  of 
organized  congregations,  it  will  help  ecclesiastical  self-support  in 
another  way — that  is,  by  swelling  the  aggregate  sum  of  local  contribu- 
tions which  may  become  available  for  the  payment  of  pastors'  salaries 
and  other  expenses  connected  with  the  various  churches.  Other  things 
being  equal,  a  congregation  of  ninety  families  ought  to  give  twice  as 
much  for  ecclesiastical  purposes  as  one  of  forty-five  families — the  esti- 
mated present  average  number ;  while  the  congregational  expenses  in 
both  cases  would  be  substantially  alike.     The  prospect,  however,  of  an 

*  Objections  to  an  agricultural  settlement,  or  a  Christian  village,  are  given  elsewhere. 
See  pp.  274,  275. 


328  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

early  result  of  this  character  is  not  very  bright ;  for  growth  hereafter, 
for  a  time  at  least,  will  probably  be  experienced  more  in  lengthening 
the  cords  of  Zion  than  in  strengthening  her  stakes — in  the  addition  of 
new  Christian  villages  to  our  present  number,  rather  than  in  the  mul- 
tiplication of  Christians  in  any  of  our  present  villages.  In  many  places 
all  of  that  class  of  people  which  has  heretofore  been  easily  affected  by 
gospel  influences  have  already  been  brought  into  the  church,  while  in 
almost  all  villages  the  local  community  belonging  to  this  class  is  com- 
paratively small ;  and  until  other  castes  and  classes  begin  to  show  signs 
of  speedy  conversion  we  cannot  expect  any  individual  congregations 
to  become  large.  For  years  to  come,  in  all  probabilty,  our  churches 
will  generally  be  "  little  flocks." 

Whether  more  can  be  expected  soon  from  the  addition  of  men  of 
means  is  a  question.  Such  people  are  confined  mostly  to  the  higher 
castes  ;  and,  as  heretofore  observed,  converts  of  this  class  generally 
come  to  us  singly,  and  are  therefore  compelled  to  forsake  all  their 
worldly  possessions,  as  well  as  everything  else  that  is  dear  to  them,  in  or- 
der that  they  may  make  and  maintain  a  Christian  profession.  Instead  of 
increasing  our  financial  strength,  therefore,  they  become  a  burden  and 
themselves  need  to  be  provided  for  in  a  worldly  point  of  view.  They 
are  more  helpless  by  far  than  our  low-caste  converts.  These  can  at 
least  stay  among  their  own  people  and  make  a  living  for  themselves, 
although  this  living  may  be  a  poor  one.  Occasionally,  however,  a 
Hindu  or  a  Muhammadan  family  comes  out  as  a  whole  from  its  former 
religious  connections,  attaches  itself  to  the  people  of  God,  and  brings 
its'property  with  it.*  And  in  the  future  we  may  hope  that  such  cases 
will  be  more  frequent  than  they  have  been  in  the  past.  And  when 
they  become  common,  and  congregations  contain  a  sufficient  number 
of  this  class,  of  course  these  congregations  will  become  self-sustaining, 
and  the  problem  of  ecclesiastical  self-support  will  be  solved.  But  at 
present  this  state  of  things  seems  to  be  far  distant. 

What  then  ought  to  be  done  to  hasten  pecuniary  self-support  as 
rapidly  as  possible  ?  What  are  the  practical  conclusions  forced  upon 
us  by  such  a  review  of  the  whole  situation  as  we  have  heretofore 
given? 

Evidently  first  we  ought  to  develop  as  fast  as  we  can  the  liberality 
of  the  Christians  already  attached  to  our  cause.  Such  plans  should  be 
adopted  as  will  everywhere  secure  regular,  systematic,  hearty,  prayer- 

*See  pp.  224,  225. 


.j^BM^i 


(329) 


330  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

ful,  intelligent  and  generous  giving.  Instruction,  exhortation,  ex- 
ample, co-operation,  subscription  lists,  assessment,  rewards,  discipline 
— all  the  usual  means  of  stimulus — should  be  employed  as  occasion 
offers.  But,  of  course,  they  ought  to  be  used  wisely.  It  will  not  do 
to  press  the  assessment  plan,  or  disciplinary  measures  too  far  ;  nor 
should  the  sliding  scale  system  of  giving  grants-in-aid  from  mission 
funds  on  certain  pecuniary  conditions  be  made  so  inflexible  in  its  ap- 
plication in  any  instance  as  to  be  unjust,  or  to  injure  the  general  cause 
of  evangelism. 

And,  as  a  help  to  this  development,  every  reasonable  effort  should 
be  made  to  secure  the  hearty  co-operation  of  foreign  and  native  laborers 
in  every  department  of  Christian  work.  All  gaps  of  alienation  existing 
between  these  two  classes  should  be  filled  up.  Mutual  Christian  so- 
ciability and  friendship  should  be  cultivated.  Each  class  should  re- 
gard and  treat  the  other  as  brethren.  Neither  should  undertake  to 
exercise  lordship  over  the  other.  Especially  should  those  mission 
methods  be  abandoned  against  which  natives  so  much  protest,  and 
which,  as  a  stumbling-block,  have  hindered  so  much  the  liberality  of 
men  of  means.  Let  natives  share  with  foreigners  the  direction  of 
Christian  work,  the  distribution  of  mission  funds,  the  employment  and 
dismissal  of  native  laborers  and  the  control  of  all  other  matters  which 
affect  so  deeply  their  own  interests  and  the  success  of  that  cause  for 
which  they  are  earnestly  laboring.  This  will  have  a  marked  effect 
upon  their  generosity  and  the  generosity  of  their  kinsmen. 

Let  the  education  of  Christians  be  also  pushed  forward  as  rapidly  as 
possible  and  especially  the  training  of  men  and  women  for  religious 
work.  This  will  help  the  cause  of  self-support  in  two  ways:  first,  by 
qualifying  men  for  lucrative  situations  and  thus  giving  them  the  means 
of  liberality,  and  secondly,  by  increasing  the  number  of  candidates  for 
Christian  labor  and  thus  diminishing  their  average  salary. 

Again,  the  work  of  evangelism  should  be  continued  with  energy  and 
zeal.  The  idea  of  waiting  until  our  present  congregations  are  drilled 
up  to  a  high  point  of  liberality  and  Christian  grace  before  advancing 
much  further  in  the  effort  to  convert  sinners,  is,  in  the  writer's  opin- 
ion, detrimental  to  the  speedy  attainment  of  a  condition  of  pecuniary 
self-support  on  the  part  of  the  native  church,  although  its  advocates 
cherish  a  very  different  impression.  In  raising  money  numbers  are 
an  important  factor.  The  larger  the  subscription  list  the  greater  the 
aggregate  sum  of  contributions  obtained  as  a  general  rule.     Besides,  a 


PRESENT  DUTY  331 

more  extensive  patronage  is  thus  opened  up  to  Christian  trade  and  the 
whole  community  made  more  independent.  And  especially  will  evan- 
gelistic success  in  the  neighborhood  of  existing  congregations  (organ- 
ized or  unorganized)  have  the  effect  of  hastening  the  end  aimed  at ;  for 
there  any  increase  of  membership  which  may  be  secured  can  be  made 
available,  as  we  have  just  seen,  in  helping  to  support  a  particular 
pastor. 

Efforts  to  convert  men  belonging  to  the  upper  classes,  moreover, 
ought  not  to  be  neglected.  As  already  seen,  they  have  more  of  this 
world's  goods  than  others,  and,  should  they  be  able  to  retain  these 
after  becoming  Christians,  they  would  make  useful  helpers  in  a 
pecuniary  point  of  view.  Hence  the  advantage  of  strong  pastors  to 
man  even  village  churches — men  whose  influence  will  be  felt  among 
all  castes.  Hence  also  the  importance  of  zenana  work  everywhere, 
without  which  whole  households  (with  all  their  belongings)  are  not 
likely  to  be  won  over  to  Christ. 

Industrial  training,  too,  is  a  department  of  missionary  effort  which 
ought  to  receive  some  attention.  As  Christians  increase  in  numbers 
and  wealth  and  are  enabled  to  furnish  more  patronage,  Christian 
mechanics  and  artisans  can  find  a  continually  growing  field  for  the 
prosecution  of  their  respective  trades,  and  those  interested  in  their  wel- 
fare should  see  to  it  that  suitably  qualified  workmen  are  ready  to  avail 
themselves  of  the  opportunity  thus  extended  to  them.  In  this  way  the 
wealth  of  the  whole  household  of  faith  is  likely  to  be  advanced  and  the 
probability  of  its  early  reaching  a  condition  of  ecclesiastical  maturity 
increased. 

The  financial  condition  of  the  natives  of  neighboring  Missions  in 
India  is  not  in  every  respect  the  same  as  that  of  our  own,  excepting,  of 
course,  that  of  the  converts  of  the  Punjab  Mission  of  the  Church  of 
Scotland,  which  operates  in  a  contiguous  field  and  spends  its  great 
strength  on  the  same  class  of  people.  Most  of  the  Missions  round 
about  us  embrace  among  their  members  fewer  from  the  low  castes  and 
a  larger  percentage  of  the  well-to-do.  Hence  the  average  contributions 
of  their  people  to  religious  and  charitable  objects  amount  to  more  than 
ours.  For  a  time  at  least  four  rupees  to  every  communicant,  or  about 
half  a  rupee  to  every  member  of  the  Christian  community,  was  the 
usual  sum  reported  in  the  statistics  of  both  the  Ludhiana  Mission  and 
the  Church  Missionary  Society  of  the  Punjab.  But  their  congregations, 
as  a  rule,  seem  to  be  smaller  than  ours,  and  it  is  doubtful  whether,  after 


332  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

all,  they  are  any  nearer  a  condition  of  pecuniary  independence  than 
the  churches  of  our  own  field.  The  North  India  Conference  of  the 
M.  E.  Church,  previous  to  their  great  advance  movement  among  the 
depressed  classes,  reported  contributions  from  natives  averaging  about 
one  rupee  to  every  "  full  member  "  and  one-third  of  a  rupee  to  every 
individual  embraced  in  its  Christian  population — a  better  showing  than 
we  have  been  able  to  make.  But  since  their  great  ingathering  from 
the  low  castes  began  it  is  probable  that  their  situation  resembles  ours 
almost  exactly.* 

Hence,  in  all  likelihood,  much  of  what  has  hitherto  been  said  in  this 
chapter  about  our  own  difficulties  and  duties  will  apply  with  equal  pro- 
priety to  our  India  neighbors — if  not  also  to  Missions  carried  on  else- 
where among  people  of  like  wealth,. civilization  and  Christian  training. 

*  The  native  churches  in  India  and  Ceylon,  under  the  care  of  the  American  Board 
of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions,  gave  in  1893-94  an  average  of  about  five 
rupees  or  $1.50  a  communicant  for  all  religious  purposes,  or  about  two  rupees  for 
every  member  of  the  Christian  community.  This  was  about  one-tenth  of  the  whole 
cost  of  the  Missions.  In  Turkey,  under  the  same  Board,  native  contributions 
amounted  to  one-fifth  of  the  entire  sum  expended  ;  in  Japan  about  one-fourth  ;  in 
China  about  one-sixtieth. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 


1 

1 

ECCLESIASTICAL  DEVELOPMENT  AND  MATURITY— II 

Church  Organization — Our  Defects  in  this  Particular — Are  they  Justifiable  ? 

HE  progress  made  by  our  India  Mission  in  church  organi- 
zation has  been  fully  as  slow  as  that  made  in  the  matter 
of  self-support. 

From  the  latest  statistics  furnished  by  Presbyterial  clerks 
we  learn  that  in  the  three  Presbyteries  which  compose  the  Synod  of  the 
Punjab  there  were,  at  the  close  of  the  year  1894,  12  churches  contain- 
ing 27  elders  and  11 23  communicants.  We  also  learn  that  two  of  the 
congregations  had  only  one  elder  each,  so  that,  according  to  the  rules 
of  Presbyterian  order,  they  had  lapsed  into  an  imperfectly  organized 
state  through  the  lack  of  the  number  of  elders  (two  or  more)  necessary 
to  form  a  full  Session,  and  had  fallen  practically  under  the  sole  man- 
agement of  the  pastor,  or  the  superintendent  of  missions.  Only  10 
churches,  therefore,  had  a  complete  Presbyterian  organization,  and  in 
these  were  only  910  members.  The  average  number  of  elders,  more- 
over, in  the  total  12  churches,  was  only  a  trifle  over  two,  while  that  of 
our  home  churches  is  about  four.  Looking  at  the  statistics  again,  we 
observe  that  there  were  4633  communicants  in  unorganized  stations — 
that  is,  altogether  outside  of  the  churches  and  under  the  direct  control 
of  mission  superintendents.  Hence  less  than  one-fifth  of  our  mem- 
bers had  their  names  upon  a  church  roll  and  less  than  one-sixth  of  the 
whole  number  were  found  in  churches  having  a  complete  organization. 
Were  all  our  communicants  organized  into  churches  as  large  and  as 
well-equipped  as  those  which  we  have  mentioned,  we  could  report 
62,  instead  of  12,  congregations  and  140,  instead  of  27,  elders.* 

*  In  the  statistics  of  the  Sialkot  Mission  (of  same  date),  as  published  in  the  "  Report 
of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,"  the  number  of  communicants  is  given  as  only  3058, 
and  baptized  adults  as  3289.  This  is  said  to  be  "  due  to  the  execution  of  a  mission 
rule  requiring  the  division  of  the  baptized  adults  into  two  classes — those  who  have 

(333) 


334  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

Looking  at  the  dates  when  our  churches  were  formed,  we  find  also 
that  progress  towards  organization  has  in  recent  years  been  decreasing 
rather  than  advancing.  Three  of  them  were  established  by  the  Sialkot 
Presbytery  before  1880,  five  during  the  next  five  years,  and  two  since, 
while  two  during  the  past  six  years  have  been  received  from  other  de- 
nominations. 

The  state  of  things  thus  indicated  may  perhaps  find  its  parallel  in 
other  Missions ;  but  it  does  not,  to  say  the  least,  accord  very  closely 
with  ideal  Presbyterianism,  nor  indeed  with  any  standard  church  pol- 
ity, and  has  therefore  been  made  a  matter  of  frequent  remark  and  re- 
proach by  people  in  the  home  field.  Nor  does  the  writer  suppose  that 
any  person  abroad,  either  foreign  or  native,  can  be  found  who  looks 
upon  it  with  entire  complacency  and  does  not  in  some  respects  deplore 
it.     Differences  of  opinion,  however,  exist  in  regard  to  its  necessity. 

Some  are  disposed  to  justify  it  as  the  best  possible  condition  which 
can  be  secured  under  the  circumstances.  They  claim  that  there  are 
not,  in  many  places,  men  enough  fit  to  hold  the  position  of  an  elder, 
and  hence  that  there  are  few  mission  centers  which,  as  yet,  are  ripe  for 
ecclesiastical  organization.  Our  people,  they  say,  are  mostly  ignorant, 
weak  and  incapable  of  governing  wisely ;  and  those  who  are  qualified 
to  assume  responsibility  are  nearly  all  in  Mission  employ,  and  perhaps 
brought  there  from  a  distance,  and  hence  not  in  a  proper  position  to 
rule  the  churches  sympathetically,  besides  being  liable  to  frequent 
transfer.  They  think  that  the  present  method  of  receiving  and  disci- 
plining members,  and  administering  sacraments,  through  a  mission  su- 
perintendent, assisted  by  his  helpers  and  perhaps  2l panchayat  (that  is,  a 
virtual  Session — see  p.  271),  answers  the  great  end  of  such  work  well 
enough,  is  free  from  the  friction  and  restriction  which  might  attend 
the  existence  of  rival  authorities,  and  may  be  safely  tolerated  until  the 

actually  communed  and  those  who  have  not,"  but  does  not  necessarily  imply  on  the 
part  of  the  latter  the  lack  of  the  proper  qualifications  for  observing  the  sacrament  of 
the  Lord's  Supper,  but  "rather  our  inability,  on  account  of  the  extent  of  our  field,  to 
offer  it  to  them." 

Hence,  even  if  the  Mission's  report  were  made  the  basis  of  our  exhibit,  little 
change  need  be  made  in  the  above  remarks,  which  are  founded  upon  the  long-estab- 
lished custom  of  giving  statistics  and  the  only  one  which  has  been  followed  by  the 
church  at  home.  All  adults  who  have  been  baptized  on  their  own  profession  of 
faith,  and  thus  far  give  evidence  of  being  Christians,  may  be  virtually  classed  with 
communicants  in  discussing  the  special  subject  before  us,  just  as  they  are  in  giving 
the  results  of  our  evangelistic  work  in  Chapter  XXI. 


ARE   MORE   ELDERS   OBTAINABLE?  335 

different  communities  become  wiser,  wealthier  and  stronger  than  they 
are  now,  and  until  they  acquire  more  of  the  elements  of  independence. 
Some  of  them,  too,  may  fear  the  effect  of  a  more  extensive  organiza- 
tion upon  the  jurisdiction  of  a  missionary  and  the  constitution  of 
higher  church  courts. 

Others,  again,  believe  that  all  this  is  simply  special  pleading.  They 
take  a  more  hopeful  view  of  the  situation  and  have  more  faith  in  the 
solidity  of  the  evangelistic  work  which  has  been  done  in  our  Mission. 
They  claim  that  from  among  our  212  trained  native  helpers,  a  major- 
ity of  whom  are  men,  and  many  of  whom  have  been  taught  in  our  own 
schools,  several  times  as  many  persons  as  are  now  in  the  eldership 
might  be  judiciously  chosen  equally  qualified  to  fill  that  office,  and 
that  all  that  can  be  said  against  the  fitness  of  any  of  them  for  it  on  ac- 
count of  their  paid  service,  their  alien  birth,  their  difference  of  pre- 
vious caste,  their  lack  of  oneness  with  the  people,  and  their  liability  to 
transfer,  might  be  said  with  equal  force  against  their  fitness  for  that 
work  of  instruction,  discipline  and  control  as  missionary  aids  which  is 
now  cheerfully  accorded  them,  and  might  be  said  with  still  greater 
force  against  the  missionary  himself.  They  are  confident,  too,  that 
scores  of  ordinary  members  might  be  found  in  our  villages  who  have 
received  enough  instruction  to  act  as  religious  leaders  among  their 
brethren,  and  who,  even  without  much  secular  education,  might  (like 
Ditt,  Kalu  or  Kanhaya)  make  very  good  ruling  elders — men,  perhaps, 
who  now  virtually  perform  the  work  of  an  elder  as  members  of  a.  pan- 
chayat,  or  assistants  of  the  sahib.  They  feel,  also,  that  through  a 
course  of  special  training  others  might  soon  become  similarly  qualified. 
On  general  principles,  too,  they  argue  that  so  much  delay  in  forming 
complete  organizations  is  unnecessary.  "Is  it  reasonable,"  they  say, 
"  to  suppose  that  God  would  bring  into  existence  a  large  Christian 
population,  without  including  among  their  number  persons  who  could 
be  wisely  chosen  at  an  early  date  to  act  as  their  ecclesiastical  rulers? 
Did  not  the  apostles  find  such  everywhere  in  their  missionary  tours  ? 
And  ought  we  not  to  expect  tlie  same  thing  now?  Will  not  the  King 
and  Head  of  the  church  certainly  care  for  his  own  body  and  see  to  it 
that  every  organ  necessary  for  its  nourishment,  growth  and  activity  is 
present,  and  fitted  for  its  appropriate  function?"  Progressives  also 
ask,  "  Why  should  we  fear  the  limitation  of  the  jurisdiction  of  a  mis- 
sionary by  the  formation  of  more  Church  Sessions,  or  the  curtailment 
of  his  individual  power  by  the  introduction  of  more  native  elders  into 


336  LIFE   AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

higher  ecclesiastical  courts  ?  By  giving  the  details  of  work  to  others 
might  he  not  be  released  from  these  for  other  and  perhaps  more  im- 
portant duties?  And,  if  he  is  able  to  sympathize  with  his  India  breth- 
ren, might  he  not  still  expect  his  opinion  to  have  great  weight  in  their 
councils  and  often  become  prevalent?  And  even  if  ecclesiastical  ac- 
tion did  sometimes  run  counter  to  his  views,  could  he  always  be  sure 
that  God's  will  had  not  been  thereby  manifested?  Might  not  the  na- 
tives often  be  nearer  right  than  he  is  himself?  And,  at  any  rate,  is 
not  this  mature,  independent,  self-governing  condition  of  the  native 
church  the  very  thing  at  which  we  are  specially  aiming?" 

More  success  has  attended  our  efforts  to  organize  higher,  than  lower, 
ecclesiastical  courts.  A  Presbytery  (called  Sialkot)  was  formed  De- 
cember i8,  1856 — the  next  year  after  our  Mission  was  started  ;  and,  as 
the  result  of  repeated  motions  and  petitions,  two  more  Presbyteries 
(Gurdaspur  and  Gujranwala)  were,  by  order  of  our  General  Assembly, 
organized  from  it  Oct.  17,  1893,  while  a  Synod  (called  the  Synod  of 
the  Punjab),  embracing  all  these  Presbyteries,  was  formed  Nov.  7, 
1893,  by  direction  of  the  same  Assembly.  Thus  a  gradation  of  eccle- 
siastical bodies  has  been  secured,  through  which  business  may  be  done 
in  accordance  with  the  rules  of  Presbyterian  order;  and,  on  occasion, 
appeal  may  be  made  from  a  lower  to  a  higher  court  and,  in  all  ordi- 
nary cases,  justice  may  be  obtained  without  the  reference  of  any  mat- 
ter to  the  General  Assembly  in  America.  Through  the  multiplication 
of  Presbyteries,  too,  these  bodies  are  made  comparatively  small  and 
have  a  comparatively  limited  geographical  jurisdiction,  and  can  there- 
fore meet  often  and  perform  rapidly  and  effectively  the  work  which  is 
given  them  to  do. 

As  early  as  January,  1883,  seven  Permanent  Committees  were  also 
appointed  by  the  Sialkot  Presbytery,  somewhat  analogous  in  their 
character  to  the  various  Boards  of  tlie  home  church.  These  were 
termed,  respectively.  Evangelization,  Publication,  Education,  Church 
Erection,  Sabbath  School,  Christian  Beneficence,  and  Statistics,  and 
had  special  charge  of  the  matters  which  their  names  particularly  indi- 
cate. The  different  members  of  these  Committees  were  chosen  for 
terms  of  various  lengths,  so  as  to  combine  as  far  as  possible  rotation  in 
office  and  growing  experience.  The  design  of  this  arrangement  was 
to  draw  the  whole  work  of  our  mission  field  as  much  as  possible  into 
the  hands  of  the  ecclesiastical  court  and  thus  secure  the  harmonious 
and    active    co-operation   of  both    foreigners   and    natives ;    in  other 


OUR   DEFICIENCY  SUMMED    UP 


337 


words,  its  aim  was  to  develop  the  wisdom,  the  energy  and  the  self- 
governing  power  of  the  church  proper,  as  it  had  been  established  in 
that  region. 

Some  of  these  Committees — the  first  three  named — continued  to 
act,  at  least  occasionally,  down  to  the  year  1892  ;  but  the  rest  virtu- 
ally ceased  to  exist  at  an  early  date,  and  even  the  first  three,  after  the 
year  1886,  gradually  lost  the  greater  part  of  their  power.  The  partial 
failure  of  this  effort  at  organization  was  due  to  various  causes — partly 
to  the  indifference  of  the  members  of  the  Committees  or  the  pressure 
of  their  other  work,  partly  to  the  drift  of  management  more  and  more 
out  of  the  hands  of  natives  and  into  the  hands  of  the  Mission,  and 
partly  perhaps  to  other  causes. 

But  this  section  of  the  machinery  of  the  old  Sialkot  Presbytery  has 
been,  of  course,  transferred  to  the  Synod  as  a  higher  court,  and  in  the 
future  we  ought  to  hear  more  of  its  activity  and  efficiency. 

On  the  whole,  however,  our  India  Church  lacks  that  thorough  organ- 
ization which  is  necessary  to  its  complete  independence  as  an  ecclesi- 
astical body.  While  it  possesses  all  the  grades  of  churcli  courts  which 
are  essential  to  its  welfare,  one  of  these  grades  (that  of  congregational 
Sessions)  has  been  very  poorly  developed  and  extended,  pastoral  set- 
tlements are  very  rare,  ordained  ministers  are  very  few,  and  as  a  natu- 
ral consequence  even  the  Presbyteries  and  the  Synod  lack  the  mem- 
bership that  is  needful  to  insure  them  a  vigorous  life.  The  bony 
framework  is  there  in  all  its  parts  ;  but  there  is  a  lack  of  flesh  and 
blood — of  fullness,  roundness  and  muscular  development. 


22 


m^ 


CONSCIOUS   STRENGTH. 


CHAPTER   XXVIII 


ECCLESIASTICAL  DEVELOPMENT  AND  MATURITY— III 

Self-Gover7iing  Power — What  it  Implies — Fewness  of  our  Ministers — Cause  of 
the  Deficiency — Character  of  our  Elders  and  Ministers — Capability  of  Exercis- 
ing Self-Government — Objections  Considered — Advantages  Presented — Evils 
thus  Removed — Instructive  Precedents — Additional  Objections  Answered — 
Summary. 

ELF-GOVERNING  power,  the  third  element  of  ecclesias- 
tical maturity,  implies   two  things:   first,  an  official  body 
of  sufficient    size  and    excellence    (both   intellectual    and 
spiritual)  to  hold  it  ;  and  secondly,  the  opportunity  of  its 
bringing  such  power  into  exercise. 

That  the  number  of  our  ruling  elders  is  small  has  already  been 
observed,  there  being  only  twenty-seven  all  told  in  our  whole  field  ; 
and  the  causes  of  this  paucity  have  also  been  discussed.*  There  is, 
too,  a  similar  scarcity  of  native  ordained  ministers.  Only  fourteen 
of  this  class  of  officers  had,  up  to  January  i,  1895,  ever  belonged  to 
our  ecclesiastical  body;  and  of  these,  three  had  died,  two  had  been 
suspended,  and  two  had  left  to  join  other  Christian  denominations, 
making  the  number  on  our  roll,  at  the  end  of  our  thirty-ninth  year  of 

*  See  pp.  m-ZZfi. 
(338) 


WHY   THERE   ARE   FEW  NATIVE   MINISTERS  339 

Christian  labor  there,  just  seven — that  is,  one  to  every  822  communi- 
cants.* 

The  causes  of  our  slow  progress  in  the  acquisition  of  a  native  min- 
istry have  been  manifold. 

One  has  been  a  disinclination  on  the  part  of  the  Mission  to  receive 
as  theological  students  men  of  high  education  and  at  the  same  time 
promise  them  the  privileges  and  tlie  pay  which  are  attached  to  what  is 
called  the  evangelical  (or  higher)  grade  of  the  ministry — the  grade  to 
which  the  Rev.  G.  L.  Thakur  Das  belonged  before  he  severed  his  con- 
nection with  us  last  spring.  Several  applications  were  made  for 
admission  under  the  care  of  Presbytery  as  students  of  theology  of  this 
grade,  but  they  were  rejected,  chiefly  because  it  was  thought  that  we 
could  not  afford  the  outlay  of  money  involved. 

Another  has  been  an  unwillingness  to  make  exceptions  in  regard  to 
the  amount  of  help  given  students  while  at  the  Seminary.  Some  who 
had  had  large  salaries  for  years  and  whose  households  were  expensive, 
wanted  to  attend  the  Theological  Seminary  and  thus  become  eligible 
for  ordination,  but  were  not  prepared  to  relinquish  their  salaries  and 
accept  in  their  stead  the  monthly  allowance  which  was  granted  mar- 
ried students  while  at  the  school ;  and  a  larger  scholarship  than  this 
sum  neither  the  Mission  nor  the  Presbytery  was  inclined  to  give  them. 

Another  cause  of  the  fewness  of  our  native  ministers  has  been  a 
lack  of  men,  educated  up  to  the  Middle  School  Standard,  having  the 
moral  and  the  spiritual  qualifications  necessary  for  their  admission 
under  the  care  of  Presbytery  as  students  of  theology  and  willing  to 
enter  the  common  (or  lower)  grade  of  the  ministry. 

Another  has  been  a  dislike  on  the  part  of  many  to  ordain  a  man  un- 
til he  has  had  a  formal  "  call  "  to  be  the  pastor  of  a  particular  congre- 
gation and  is  ready  to  be  installed  in  that  position.  In  the  year  1886, 
when  eight  of  our  ministers  were  ordained,  this  sentiment,  indeed,  did 
not  have  much  influence.  We  were  exceedingly  anxious  then  to  get 
ministers   for  purely  evangelistic  work.     But  since  that  time  opposi- 

*  This  proportion  still  holds  good  ;  for,  though  another  minister  has  left  our  body 
since  the  beginning  of  the  year,  it  is  believed  that  one  of  our  candidates  for  the 
ministry  has  within  the  same  period  been  ordained  and  added  to  the  roll.  When 
the  Statistical  Tables  were  prepared  in  1890  there  was  one  native  minister  to  every 
120  communicants  in  all  the  Missions  of  the  Punjab,  and  in  the  whole  of  India  one 
to  every  229.  According  to  Dr.  Smith's  tables  in  his  "Short  History  of  Christian 
Missions"  there  was  in  1891  one  native  minister  to  every  313  communicants  among 
all  tlte  Missions  of  the  world. 


340  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

tion  to  the  ordination  of  a  licentiate*  witliout  a  call  has  had  the  as- 
cendency. 

In  connection  with  this  also  may  be  noticed  the  fact  that  no 
arrangements  are  made  for  the  rotary  distribution  of  our  licentiates 
among  the  different  churches  wanting  a  pastor,  so  as  to  give  these 
congregations  a  chance  of  hearing  them  and,  if  they  are  pleased,  giv- 
ing them  a  call. 

It  must  be  confessed,  too,  that  superintendents  of  Missions  and 
other  foreign  laborers  have  sometimes  abstained  from  encouraging  em- 
ployees in  their  desire  to  enter  the  ministry  and  have  even  thrown  ob- 
structions in  the  way  of  their  reaching  it.  This  may  have  been  owing 
to  their  doubt  of  the  qualification  of  such  helpers  for  this  high  office,  or 
for  other  reasons  not  so  justifiable.  But,  whatever  their  motive,  the 
effect  has  been  the  same,  namely,  the  hindrance  of  the  growth  of  our 
theological  school  and  our  ministerial  force. 

Dissatisfaction  with  the  policy  of  our  own  Mission,  or  that  of  Mis- 
sions generally,  has  also,  doubtless,  had  its  influence  on  the  natives 
themselves,  not  only  in  preventing  the  entrance  of  worthy  young  men 
into  Mission  employ  and  the  Christian  ministry,  but  also  in  driving 
away  from  our  ministerial  ranks  persons  upon  whom  we  had  actually 
laid  the  hands  of  ordination. 

Death,  too,  which  spares  neither  high  nor  low,  has  been  at  work  in 
thinning  our  ministerial  forces. 

But,  small  as  may  be  the  number  of  our  native  ministers  and  licen- 
tiates, little  can  be  said  against  their  character,  or  their  fitness  to  per- 
form satisfactorily  the  duties  of  an  ecclesiastical  ruler.  Their  average 
education  is  good  ;  their  morals  are  unexceptionable  ;  their  spiritual 
attainments  are  as  high,  perhaps,  as  that  of  white  ministers  generally ; 
and  of  their  wisdom  and  their  capacity  to  direct  and  carry  on  religious 
work,  after  they  have  acquired  a  fair  amount  of  experience,  no  one  has 
the  right  to  say  a  disparaging  word.  Our  present  elders,  likewise,  are 
generally  capable  and  trustworthy  men,  fit  associates  of  their  ministe- 
rial brethren. 

In  the  opinion,  therefore,  of  many  in  other  Missions  and  of  some  in 
our  own  Mission,  no  valid  objection  can  be  made  to  the  bestowal  upon 
these  two  classes  (as  an  organized  and  united  force)  of  a  large  amount 
of  ecclesiastical  and  missionary  power ;  and  especially  so  while  they 
have  associated  with  them  on   an  equal   footing,  in  all  their  higher 

*  A  licensed  preacher,  but  one  not  fully  introduced  into  the  ministry  by  ordination. 


SHOULD   NATIVES  HAVE   MORE  POWER? 


341 


church  courts,  foreign  missionaries,  who  would  probably  continue  to 
exert  a  great  influence  over,  them  and  supply  whatever  might  be 
deficient  in  their  counsels. 

True,  it  might  be  said  that  the  great  majority  of  these  native  minis- 
ters and  elders  are  now  employees  of  mission  superintendents  and  on 
that  account  might  be  unduly  biased  by  the  opinions  and  the  desires 
of  their  superiors.  The  fear  of  the  displeasure  of  their  sahibs  and  of 
dismissal  from  their  service  might  lead  them  to  adopt  a  course  or  cast  a 
vote  occasionally  which  was  contrary  to  their  own  convictions.  But, 
if  any  danger  of  this  kind 
existed,  the  present  policy 
of  autocratic  superintend- 
ence which  occasions  it 
might  be  easily  modified, 
or  entirely  abolished,  and 
such  employees  might  be 
placed  under  ecclesiastical 
courts,  or  committees  of 
these  courts,  who  would 
determine  their  standing 
and  pay,  and  their  reten- 
tion in,  or  dismissal  from, 
the  staff  of  workers.  This 
would  give  them  a  freer 
and  more  independent 
spirit,  and  lead  them  to 
act  from  higher  motives. 

It  might  be  said  also 
that  if  the  number  of  or- 
ganized congregations  greatly  increased,  as  should  be  the  case,  many 
weak  brethren  would  be  admitted  into  the  eldership  and  the  tone  of 
that  element  considerably  lowered,  and  that  this  would  affect  the 
general  character  of  our  ecclesiastical  courts.  But,  as  we  have  already 
seen,  there  is  a  considerable  body  of  well-qualified  men  in  the  mem- 
bership of  the  church  from  which  a  choice  of  elders  might  be  made 
and  such  a  result  as  that  which  we  have  mentioned  need  not  necessarily 
follow,  and  probably  would  not  follow,  especially  as  the  church  is  con- 
tinually advancing  in  spiritual  character  and  intelligence.  And,  even 
if  the  eldership  did  somewhat  degenerate,  the  balance  of  good  influence 


PARSEE    CHILDREN. 


342  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

would  be  maintained  still  by  that  increasing  native  ministerial  force 
whose  growth  in  numbers  might  be  expected  to  run  parallel  with  that 
of  their  associates  in  authority. 

True,  the  ministerial  force  itself  might  degenerate  through  the  low- 
ering of  the  standard  of  educational  and  other  qualifications  required 
of  candidates  for  the  ministry.  And  here  perhaps  lies  the  great  dan- 
ger at  the  present  time  ;  and  one  of  the  chief  arguments  in  favor  of 
urging  the  retention  of  the  Middle  School  standard,*  or  its  equivalent, 
as  the  lowest  possible  for  the  ministry,  is  the  fact  that  an  inferior 
grade  of  ordained  men  might  so  weaken  ecclesiastical  bodies  as  to 
render  the  bestowal  upon  them  of  large  missionary  powers  a  matter 
of  .doubtful  expediency.  So  long,  however,  as  the  average  talent, 
education  and  character  of  our  native  ministers  and  elders  remain  what 
they  are,  and  at  the  same  time  missionaries  are  associated  with  them  in 
higher  church  courts,  we  may  confidently  affirm  that  they  will  be 
abundantly  capable  of  managing  any  amount  of  ecclesiastical  business 
and  missionary  work  which  may  be  assigned  them.  We  are  also  fully 
persuaded  that,  if  the  opportunity  of  exercising  self-government  under 
these  conditions  is  extended  to  them,  they  would  in  the  course  of  a 
few  years  attain  all  that  learning,  energy,  zeal,  self-poise,  economy, 
vigilance,  caution,  tact  and  statesmanlike  prudence  which  will  be  re- 
quired, on  the  withdrawal  of  foreign  help,  to  maintain  and  extend  the 
cause  of  Christ  in  their  own  territory. 

The  bestowal  of  such  authority  would  also  do  much  to  abolish  evils 
which  are  found  in  the  mission  field  and  help  greatly  to  bridge  over 
that  gap  of  separation  which  has  been  formed  between  foreign  mission- 
aries, on  the  one  hand,  and  native  Christians,  or  at  least  native 
Christian  workers,  on  the  other. 

That  evils  do  exist  and  that  they  have  produced  a  division,  more  or 
less  marked,  between  the  two  classes  mentioned,  has  already  been  re- 
ferred to  and  will  not  probably  be  denied  by  any.  Missionaries  and 
their  native  brethren  often  find  fault  with  one  another.  And  the 
charges  made  on  both  sides  largely  range  around,  and  find  their  roots 
in,  that  relation  which  they  sustain  to  each  other  as  employer  and  em- 
ployee. The  former  blame  the  latter  in  many  cases  with  laziness,  in- 
subordination, indifferent  work,  "  eye-service  as  men-pleasers,"  illib- 
erality,  a  grasping  desire  to  get  higher  wages  and  greater  privileges, 
a  parasitic  spirit,  indisposition  to  labor  without  pay,  lack  of  generous 
*  Two  years  below  the  Freshman  Class  of  a  College. 


DIVISION  BETWEEN  NATIVE  AND    FOREIGN   WORKERS    343 

spontaneity  in  Christian  efforts  to  do  good,  a  disposition  to  hide  one 
another's  misdeeds,  and  improper  aspirations  after  more  power.  The 
latter  often  blame  the  former  with  exhibiting  towards  them  a  distant, 
unsympathetic,  race-proud,  overbearing  spirit — with  neglect,  indiffer- 
ence, uncharitableness,  oppression,  injustice,  an  indisposition  to  yield 
them  deserved  honor,  the  failure  to  give  them  an  equal  chance  with 
the  heathen  in  the  race  for  education  and  high  standing,*  the  denial 
of  their  individual  and  ecclesiastical  rights,  the  refusal  to  bestow  upon 
them  a  due  share  of  self-governing  power,  and  disagreeable  treatment 
of  any  who  may  sympathize  with  them  in  their  wrongs.f 

Of  course  it  is  not  meant  that  all  missionaries  or  all  natives  make 
these  charges  and  countercharges,  or  that  there  are  no  seasons  of  com- 
parative peace,  and  even  good  feeling.  The  unemployed  common 
people,  especially  if  they  are  uneducated,  are,  as  yet,  involved  in  such 
controversies  very  little — although  apparently  inclining  more  and  more 
to  the  side  of  their  own  countrymen.  Some  workers,  too,  both  foreign 
and  native,  are  very  prudent  and  keep  as  far  as  possible  from  this  strife, 
or  for  different  reasons  gravitate  towards  the  party  with  which  they 
would  naturally  have  less  affinity.  And  even  those  on  both  sides  who 
are  loudest  and  most  frequent  in  their  cries  find  somehow  a  modus 
Vivendi,  and  often  enjoy  such  intercourse  with  one  another  as  proves 
comparatively  pleasant  to  themselves  and  edifying  to  the  native  church 
as  a  whole. 

But  the  indictments  above  recorded  are  nevertheless  pressed  with 
sufficient  frequency  and  vehemence  to  cause  much  heartburning  :  and 
no  doubt,  even  admitting  of  exaggerations,  there  is  a  great  deal  of 
truth  in  both  of  them,  and  certainly  as  much  in  the  latter  as  in  the 
former.  It  is  only  a  disposition  to  be  perfectly  honest  and  fair  which 
leads  the  able  editor  of  the  Indian  Evangelical  Review,  now  an  old 
and  experienced  missionary,  to  say,  "Not  only  are  Europeans,  as  a 
class,  but  even  missionaries  are,  with  more  or  less  of  truth,  accused  of 
pride,  exclusiveness,  overbearing  manners,  cold  isolation,  hauteur, 
want  of  sympathy  with  natives  as  a  class  in  their  attempts  to  improve 
their  condition  and  to  raise  themselves  in  learning,  intelligence,  inde- 
pendence and  social  position  ;  nay  more,  of  jealousy,  if  not  of  opposi- 
tion to  their  praiseworthy  efforts  to  better  themselves  and  those  de- 
pendent upon  them.  Many  a  missionary  finds  it  hard  to  be  sweet  and 
gentle  amidst  all  the  worries  and  ailments  of  this  life,  and,  in  his  deal- 

*  See  pages  i68,  173  and  295-297.  -j-  See  also  pp.  66,  67  and  273, 


344  LIFE   AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

ings  with  the  poor  down-trodden  native,  to  forget  that  he  belongs  to  a 
higher  race  in  the  scale  of  civilization  and  to  the  conquerors  of  the 
country.  He  feels  inclined  sometimes  to  speak  roughly,  if  not  harshly 
and  tauntingly,  to  them  as  to  his  inferiors,  as  he  would  never  do  to 
Europeans  in  his  own  country  ;  and  the  result  is  most  sad.  Their  feel- 
ings are  hurt  and  their  hearts  are  alienated."  *  In  other  words,  a  gulf 
of  separation  is  opened  up  between  them.  And  in  our  own  Mission 
this  gulf  has  been  widened  and  deepened  during  recent  years  by  events 
which  it  is  unnecessary  here  to  recount. f 

Now  it  is  claimed  by  other  missionaries  besides  the  writer  that  the 
bestowal  of  more  authority  and  power  upon  our  ecclesiastical  courts, 
where  natives  and  foreigners  meet  on  an  equal  footing,  and  the  aboli- 
tion of  what  might  be  called  the  autocratic  method  of  superintendence, 
would  remove  at  once  a  large  number  of  the  evils  mentioned,  close  up 
to  a  vast  extent  the  gap  now  existing  between  missionaries  and  natives, 
stop  in  a  considerable  degree  the  complaints  of  both  parties,  and  tend 
greatly  to  heal  the  divisions  of  Israel.  And  so  think  the  natives  also. 
And  this  is  why  in  a  memorial  to  the  General  Assembly  of  1892  five  of 
our  native  ministers  asked  "  that  the  Presbytery  be  made  what  the  Mission 
has  hitherto  been  for  the  native  agents — that  their  employment,  salary, 
transfer  and  dismissal  be  subject  to  the  control  of  the  Presbytery,"  J 
although  as  an  alternative  they  expressed  a  willingness  to  accept  an 
arrangement  by  which  natives  had  representation  in  the  Mission  itself. 

The  granting  of  more  power  to  ecclesiastical  courts  would  also,  no 
doubt,  produce  other  good  results. 

For  one  thing  it  would  almost  certainly  give  a  great  impulse  to  all 
the  various  branches  of  Christian  labor,  develop  the  energies  of  our 
native  people  and  elevate  the  tone  of  piety  throughout  our  whole  field. 
Native  agents,  instead  of  laboring  to  please  their  human  superintend- 
ents, would  aim  more  at  gaining  the  approbation  of  their  Divine  Master. 
Regarding  the  work  as  their  own  they  would  enter  into  all  its  opera- 
tions with  heartiness  and  would  rejoice  to  labor  side  by  side  with  their 
foreign  brethren.  A  great  ingathering  of  souls  from  an  ungodly  world 
might  therefore  be  confidently  looked  for.  New  zeal  would  be  infused 
into  the  effort  to  secure  a  more  thorough  ecclesiastical  organization. 
The  purses  of  the  natives  would  naturally  be  opened  more  widely  to 
the  calls  made  upon  their  liberality.     Self-support  would  probably  be 

*  Indian  Evangelical  Review,  Vol.  XII,  p.  165.  |  See  pp.  137-139. 

;j;  At  the  time  when  the  memorial  was  sent  up,  no  Synod  had  yet  been  formed. 


(345) 


346  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

pushed  to  its  farthest  possible  limit.  The  training  of  Christians  would 
advance  even  more  rapidly  than  it  does  now.  Presbyterianism  as  a 
system  would  be  regarded  with  more  favor.  No  occasion  would  be 
given  other  Missions  to  invade  our  territory.  The  tendency  to  abandon 
our  church  and  our  employ  would  be  checked.  A  spirit  of  loyalty 
would  shield  us  from  every  rival  and  make  our  forces  a  unit.  Our 
home  church  would  be  regarded  as  a  loving  mother,  and  a  reign  of 
tranquillity  would  be  inaugurated.  In  short,  "  the  fruit  of  righteous- 
ness would  be  sown  in  peace  of  them  that  make  peace." 

This  policy,  moreover,  would  tend  to  abolish  a  great  anomaly  in 
Presbyterianism,  namely,  the  management  of  ecclesiastical  business 
and  the  domination  of  church  bodies  by  a  Committee,  which  in  our 
own  field  we  call  The  Mission.  This  method  of  control  is  contrary 
to  the  genius  of  our  church  polity,  or,  for  that  matter,  of  any  church 
polity — an  excrescence,  indeed,  on  our  whole  system  of  ecclesiastical 
government,  and,  like  a  parasite,  if  allowed  to  remain  for  any  great 
length  of  time,  is  apt  to  absorb  into  itself  the  life  of  the  organism  to 
which  it  is  attached  and  insure  for  the  latter  only  a  stunted  growth. 
The  sooner,  therefore,  it  can  be  removed  the  better.  In  the  early 
days  of  mission  work,  indeed,  it  may  serve  a  good  purpose,  but  as  soon 
as  the  ecclesiastical  plant  attached  to  it  gets  a  good  start  and  strikes 
its  roots  down  into  the  earth,  the  old  stock  should  be  cut  away.  If 
the  latter  is  left  standing  beyond  its  proper  day  untold  harm  will 
surely  be  the  result. 

Nor  is  the  course  proposed  so  destitute  of  precedent  as  to  place  us 
entirely  on  untrodden  ground.  By  granting  more  power  to  the  na- 
tives in  their  ecclesiastical  capacity,  and  thus  paving  the  way  for  a 
higher  development  of  ecclesiastical  manhood,  we  should  only  be  fol- 
lowing the  path  which  missionary  management  in  many  other  fields 
has  already  taken  and  which  it  will  everywhere,  sooner  or  later,  be 
compelled  to  take.  Our  C.  M.  S.  neighbors  in  the  Punjab  have  already 
turned  over  the  executive  control  of  their  churches  and  the  evangel- 
istic work  within  congregational  boundaries  to  the  Church  Council, 
which  embraces  only  two  foreign  members ;  and  even  the  financial  es- 
timates which  are  made  by  this  body  are  practically  final.  Our  Ameri- 
can Presbyterian  friends  in  the  Ludhiana  Mission  have  also  recently 
thrown  much  of  their  work  into  the  hands  of  their  ecclesiastical  courts. 
The  American  Methodists  of  India  have  for  a  long  time  done  their 
main  mission  business  in  Conferences,  where  natives  and  foreigners 


A    CHEAT  CHANGE   NECESSARY  347 

stand  on  an  equality;  and  even  their  Mission  Finance  Committee 
embraces  a  number  of  the  former,  as  well  as  of  the  latter  class.  The 
United  Presbyterian  Presbytery  of  Egypt  has  all  along  managed  a  large 
part  of  the  affairs  of  that  mission  field  ;  and  probably  none  of  its  ar- 
rangements, or  requests,  has  ever  been  vetoed  by  the  Missionary  As- 
sociation, which  is  also  established  there;  although  it  is  true  that  the 
latter  still  retains  altogether  in  its  own  hands  certain  branches  of  the 
work.  Everywhere,  indeed,  throughout  the  world  where  missionary 
enterprises  have  made  any  headway  the  same  question  of  control  either 
has  arisen,  or  threatens  soon  to  arise  ;  and  never  yet  has  it  been  satis- 
factorily settled  except  in  one  way — that  is,  by  admitting  natives  to  a 
share  in  the  exercise  of  power.  A  pyramid  can  rest  securely  only  in 
its  natural  position.  It  is  worse  than  folly  to  try  to  make  it  balance 
forever  on  its  inverted  apex. 

Even  our  own  Mission,  which  resisted  the  prayer  of  the  memorialists 
to  the  General  Assembly  of  1892,  has  found  it  necessary  since  that 
time  to  make  concessions  to  their  Oriental  brethren.  The  power  of 
dismissing  native  ministers  from  mission  employ  has  been  taken  away 
from  individual  missionaries  and  reserved  to  the  Mission  itself.  More 
liberal  terms  of  a  financial  character  have  been  offered  congregations 
in  the  case  of  pastoral  settlements  ;  grants  of  money  for  evangelistic 
purposes  have  also  been  promised  under  special  conditions;  and  one 
of  our  native  ministers,  who  refused  to  remain  with  us  unless  he  was 
given  a  responsible  position  and  allowed  to  report  directly  to  the  Mis- 
sion as  an  organized  body,  was  appointed  a  professor  in  the  Theolog- 
ical Seminary  and  given  the  superintendence  of  a  mission  field.  In 
short  a  return  has  been  made  in  some  degree  to  the  situation  which 
existed  prior  to  the  year  1886. 

But  such  modifications  of  method  are  too  fragmentary,  too  slight, 
too  much  hampered  by  restrictions,  too  liable  to  repeal,  and  too  doubtful 
in  their  spirit,  to  act  as  an  effectual  remedy  for  the  evils  which  have 
arisen  and  secure  all  the  benefits  of  ecclesiastical  maturity.  A  more 
radical  and  sweeping  change  is  necessary  before  the  breach  between 
our  foreign  and  native  brethren  can  be  healed  and  the  church  of  that 
land  can  be  made  to  "  arise  and  shine  " — such  a  change  as  that  which 
was  asked  for  in  the  memorial,  or  that  which  was  afterwards  proposed 
by  our  Foreign  Board.  And  this,  too,  must  be  granted  heartily, 
hopefully  and  lovingly — not  with  the  sneer  of  a  cynic,  or  the  reluct- 
ance of  a  discomfited  rival. 


348  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

Nor  do  the  objections  made  to  this  progressive  course  seem  very 
formidable. 

Some  appear  to  think  that  native  ministers  and  elders  cannot  be 
trusted  with  such  great  powers  as  it  contemplates  giving  them.  But  is 
not  this  a  merely  gratuitous  assumption  ?  And  if  really  true,  may  we 
not  appropriately  inquire,  Why  have  these  men  been  ordained  officers 
of  Christ's  church  at  all?  And  if  it  be  granted  that  the  whole  con- 
trol cannot  be  surrendered  to  them,  why  stand  in  the  way  of  their  ob- 
taining a  part  and,  through  experience,  becoming  qualified  for  greater 
responsibilities?  They  only  ask  for  a  share  with  the  foreign  mission- 
aries. Besides,  in  any  case,  cannot  such  checks  be  established  as  will 
prevent  the  abuse  of  power? 

Others  think  that  every  grant  of  authority  to  the  native  ministry 
should  be  dependent  upon,  and  measured  by,  the  amount  of  money 
received  from  tlie  native  church.  Some  would  allow  ecclesiastical 
courts  to  control  only  native  contributions  and  the  persons  or  objects 
that  these  contributions  support.  Some,  in  addition  to  this,  would 
give  them  also  the  control  of  foreign  funds  proportioned  in  amount  to 
those  which  come  from  indigenous  sources.  Some  would  refuse  them 
the  management  of  either  until  the  native  church  becomes  financially 
self-sustaining.  But  the  reason  for  these  limitations  is  not  clear. 
How  can  the  source  whence  supplies  are  derived  indicate  who  are  best 
qualified  to  distribute  or  use  them?  And  why  should  the  training  for 
ecclesiastical  business  and  wise  management  be  delayed,  or  hindered 
altogether,  by  the  indifferent  question  as  to  where  the  tools,  or  tlie 
materials,  with  which  they  operate  originate.  A  Hindu  can  learn  car- 
pentry as  well  with  a  London  plane  as  with  one  made  in  Calcutta;  and 
self-governing  power,  which  means  ability  and  experience  in  govern- 
ment, is,  we  have  seen,  as  much  a  part  of  ecclesiastical  maturity  as 
financial  self-support.  Both,  indeed,  should  advance  together  so  that 
when  the  latter  reaches  its  needful  limit  tlie  former  may  not  be  want- 
ing. Otherwise,  like  an  untrained  youth  suddenly  made  rich,  the  na- 
tive church  might  eventually  cut  a  sorry  figure  and  make  itself  ridicu- 
lous. 

But,  some  one  says,  the  development  of  financial  self-support  in  the 
native  church  is  hindered  by  the  grant  of  self-governing  power  to  her 
official  ministry,  and  the  latter  should  wait  upon  the  former.  This  is 
a  most  astonishing  statement.  The  very  opposite  would  appear  to  be 
the  fact.     A  native  ministry,  with  large  powers,  and  experienced  skill 


LACK,  BUT  HOPE  349 

and  hearty  spirit,  ought  to  do  much  to  bring  the  church  generally  up 
to  a  high  point  of  liberality — more,  certainly,  than  it  can  do  with  scant 
authority,  acting  in  a  subordinate  position,  and  weighed  down  by  a 
sense  of  personal  wrong.  Nor  is  a  different  conclusion  favored  by  the 
results  of  the  policy  which  has  prevailed  in  past  years. 

But  discipline  would  suffer  from  the  change  and  the  moral  and 
spiritual  tone  of  our  native  helpers  would  be  lowered.  So  exclaims  an 
objector.  Such,  however,  has  not  been  the. result  where  the  new  regime 
has  been  tried.  A  member  of  the  Punjab  Church  Council,  a  mission- 
ary, says  that  since  power  was  given  to  that  body  discipline  has  become 
stricter  than  it  was  before.  The  native  members  feel  a  responsibility 
which  they  did  not  previously  realize ;  and,  as  a  consequence,  unfaith- 
ful members  and  laborers  are  either  improved  or  weeded  out.  Nor  can 
foreign  missionaries  ever  be  in  such  a  position  as  to  equal  natives  in 
the  detection  of  wrongdoing  among  people  of  their  own  class. 

But  furtlier  remarks  upon  this  part  of  our  subject  are  unnecessary. 
What  has  been  said  is  intended  simply  to  point  out  a  way  by  which,  in 
the  opinion  of  the  writer  and  others,  mission  churches,  and  especially 
our  own  India  church,  may  preserve  more  fully  what  they  have  already 
attained,  and  advance  more  rapidly  than  they  have  heretofore  done 
towards  the  goal  of  ecclesiastical  maturity  and  complete  success.  That 
they  are  generally  a  long  distance  from  this  consummation  will  not  be 
denied  by  any.  In  regard  to  financial  self-support,  completeness  of 
church  organization,  training  for  the  exercise  of  self-government,  and 
even  the  opportunity  of  properly  commencing  this  training,  our  Pun- 
jab Synod  displays  a  deplorable  lack;  and  while  her  lack  in  these  par- 
ticulars is  greater,  doubtless,  than  that  of  most  other  churches  which 
are  similarly  situated,  hardly  a  mission  field  can  be  found  anywhere 
throughout  the  world  where  complete  ecclesiastical  manhood  and  vig- 
orous, independent  church  life  has  been  reached  by  converts  from 
heathenism  or  their  descendants. 

Let  no  one  suppose,  however,  that  our  Christian  work  in  the  Punjab 
has  been  a  failure,  or  that  it  does  not  display  points  of  great  excel- 
lence. Ecclesiastical  maturity,  although  a  highly  important  matter 
and  the  great  end  of  all  our  labor,  is,  as  we  have  already  seen,  only 
one  of  three  great  branches  of  mission  work,  and  in  the  other  two  we 
have  met  with  abundant  success.  The  training  of  Christians  in  every- 
thing except  self-government,  and  especially  the  training  of  the  com- 
mon people,  has  been  carried  on  as  vigorously  and  as  effectually  as  in 


350 


LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 


many  other  fields ;  while  in  pioneer  evangelistic  efforts  and  fruits  our 
Mission  stands  high  above  the  average.  Nor  can  we  suppose  that  God 
in  His  providence  will  not,  in  His  own  time  and  way,  and  probably 
soon,  accomplish  the  third  object,  which  is  necessary  to  crown  the  rest 
and  bring  them  to  perfection.  Should  this  chapter  and  the  preceding 
aid  only  a  little  in  bringing  about  such  a  desirable  consummation  the 
writer  will  feel  that  they  have  not  been  penned  entirely  in  vain. 


Wh-WER    hlRDS    AM)    NhST 


CHAPTER  XXIX 


THE  OUTLOOK 

Statistics  Encouraging — Comparative  Progress  of  Other  Religions — Islam  Making 
Few  Converts — Statement  of  the  /.  E.  R. — Spurts  of  Hindu  Revival — Caste 
Giving  Way — Gross  Hinduism  Diminishing — Reforms  Advancing — Indifference 
of  Many  Hindus  to  their  Faith — Brighter  Record  of  Christian  Missions — 
Splendid  Field  Among  the  Lowly — Danger  of  Compromise — Danger  of  Neg- 
lecting the  Depressed  Classes — Danger  of  Neglecting  the  Native  Christians  and 
the  Native  Church — But  Great  Hope  of  Triumph — Not  Immediately — Nor  as 
The  Statesman  Forecasts — But  in  a  Century  or  two — The  Church  like  a  Banyan 
Tree. 

S  for  the  general  outlook  of  Missions  in  India  I  am  glad  to 
be  able  to  give  a  hopeful  report.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
whatever  that  Christianity  is  making  headway  in  that 
country.  Statistics  themselves  indicate  this.  From  a  total 
of  91,000  Protestant  Christians  in  the  year  1851,  the  number  rose  to 
138,000  in  1861,  to  224,000  in  1871,  to  417,000  in  1881,  and  to  about 
560,000  in  1890.  And  though  the  progress  made  has  been  very  un- 
even, both  as  regards  time  and  place,  no  period  has  been  characterized 
by  complete  stagnation,  and  no  section  of  the  country  has  been  en- 
tirely destitute  of  substantial  advancement.  During  the  nine  years 
elapsing  between  the  census  of  1881  and  the  census  of  1890,  "  Bengal 
had  an  increase  of  30  per  cent.,  the  N.  W.  Provinces  and  Oude  139 
per  cent.,  the  Punjab  335  per  cent..  Central  India  132  per  cent.,  Bom- 
bay 92  per  cent.,  and  the  Madras  Presidency  22  per  cent."*  Natu- 
rally, therefore,  we  are  led  to  expect  similar  progress  in  the  future. 
And  this  expectation  is  strengthened  when  we  consider  the  increase  in 
the  number  of  workers,  both  foreign  and  native,  who  have  been 
specially  engaged  in  Christian  labor  there.     The  number  of  ordained 

*"  Protestant  Missions  in  India,  Burma  and  Ceylon — Statistical  Tables,  1890,"  p. 
xiii. 

(351) 


352  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

missionaries  advanced  from  339  in  1851  to  857  in  1890;  the  native 
ordained  agents,  from  21  in  1851  to  797  in  1890;  and  native  lay 
preachers,  from  493  in  185 1  to  3491  in  1890.  Thus  a  greater  and 
greater  amount  of  force  is  year  by  year  brought  to  bear  upon  the  cita- 
dels of  heathendom,  and,  other  things  being  equal,  we  ought  to  look 
for  even  larger  results  in  the  future  than  in  the  past. 

True,  other  faiths  are  progressing  also.  Hindus,  Muhammadans, 
Sikhs  and  Buddhists  are  all  growing  numerically  stronger  ;  and  at  every 
census  each  can  muster  a  larger  number  of  adherents  than  it  did  at  the 
preceding  roll-call.  But  in  many  cases  their  growth  is  less  rapid  than 
that  of  the  population  generally,  while  in  the  case  of  Christians,  and 
especially  Protestant  Christians,  advancement  outruns  the  average,  and 
that  too  by  a  large  percentage.  During  the  ten  years  which  elapsed 
between  the  census  of  1881  and  that  of  1891,  the  Sikhs  increased  3 
per  cent. ;  the  Parsees  5  per  cent.  ;  the  Hindus  10.4  per  cent.  ;  the 
Muhammadans  14.4  per  cent.  ;  the  Jains  15.9  per  cent.  ;  the  Christians 
of  all  classes  22,6  per  cent.  ;  Protestant  Christians  34.3  per  cent.  ;  and 
Buddhists  107  per  cent.  ;  while  the  whole  population  increased  12.5 
per  cent.  This  shows  that  Christians  far  excelled  all  others  in  ratio 
of  increase  except  Buddhists,  whose  remarkable  growth  was  due 
more  to  the  addition  of  Upper  Burma,  and  other  Buddhist  regions,  to 
British  East  India  Territory  than  to  the  spread  of  that  faith  among 
unbelievers.* 

Even  Islam,  the  only  great  rival  of  Christianity  as  a  missionary  re- 
ligion, was  surpassed  by  the  latter  more  than  50  per  cent,  in  the  ra- 
pidity of  its  propagation  ;  and  by  Protestant  Christianity  (which  after 
all  is  the  only  form  of  our  faith  that  we  ought  here  to  take  into  ac- 
count) it  was  exceeded  nearly  150  per  cent. 

Although  Muhammadanism  advances  numerically,  in  India,  more 
rapidly  than  the  general  population,  many  doubt  whether  this  compar- 
ative progress  is  due  in  any  great  degree  to  inroads  upon  an  outside 
world.  The  Indian  Evangelical  Review  is  especially  decided  in  its 
contradiction  of  those  who  assert  that  this  faith  makes  many  proselytes. 
It  says,  "  The  London  Spectator  estimates  the  number  of  annual  con- 
versions to  Islam  in  India  as  no  fewer  than  100,000  !  Canon  Taylor 
says  600,000  !  The  estimates  are  so  recklessly  absurd  that  to  many 
the  very  idea  of  formally  contradicting  them  is  itself  absurd.  And  yet 
such  dense  ignorance  abounds,  both  here  and  at  home,  that  to  many  a 
*  For  other  statistics,  see  pp.  no,  119,  121,  122,  240-243  and  Appendix. 


IS  ISLAM  GROWING?  353 

formal  contradiction  becomes  necessary.  And  the  contradiction  we 
unhesitatingly  give  as  full  and  as  formal  as  we  can.  After  enquiries 
and  investigations  in  various  parts  of  the  country,  we  emphatically  as- 
sert that  there  is  not  a  word  of  truth  in  Canon  Taylor's  sensational 
statements  as  regards  India.  He  would  be  within  the  mark  if  he  had 
said  600  as  the  utmost  figure  for  all  India We  do  not  be- 
lieve that  [even]  600  Hindus,  Christians  or  Aborigines  have  become 
Mussulmans  within  the  last  ten  years.  The  only  cases  coming  within 
our  knowledge  were  all  cases  of  seduction — Hindu  wives,  or  widows, 
seduced  by  Muharamadans,  and  one  or  two  Christian  girls  tempted  into 
so-called  Muhammadan  marriages.  We  have  also  heard  of  Muham- 
madan  men  and  women  becoming  Roman  Catholics  in  the  same  way; 
so  that  possibly  as  many  are  lost  to  Muhammadanism  in  this  way  as  are 
gained.  "  * 

Probably  the  above  statements  of  the  /.  E.  Review  are  somewhat 
extreme  in  their  sweep,  especially  as  far  as  the  Punjab  is  concerned ; 
but,  one  thing  is  certain  :  Canon  Taylor  and  those  who  sympathize 
with  him  in  their  strange  eagerness  to  decry  missionary  effort  and 
champion  the  faith  of  the  false  prophet,  can  find  little  to  justify  their 
wonderful  assertions.  Certain  it  is  also  that  for  every  professed  Chris- 
tian who  is  induced  to  apostatize  to  Islam  fifteen  or  twenty  persons  are 
received  by  Christian  Missions  from  the  Muhammadan  ranks. ■}" 

Nor  does  Hinduism  make  any  substantial  progress  other  than  that 
which  comes  from  its  natural  growth. 

Spurts  of  Hindu  revival  may,  indeed,  be  observed  from  time  to 
time.  Great  nielas  are  held  and  long-established  pilgrimages  are  ob- 
served with  much  of  the  old-time  enthusiasm.  Lacs  of  rupees  are  ex- 
pended every  year  in  festivals,  and  offerings  to  the  gods,  and  gifts  to 
the  Brahmans.  \  Here  and  there  temples  are  erected,  or  repaired,  to 
fulfill  sacred  vows,  acquire  merit  and  insure  a  happier  transmigration 
when  death  comes.  §     Revolts  against  the  evangelistic  efforts  of  Chris- 

*/.  E.  R.,  Vol.  XIV,  pp.  369,  370— for  January,  1888. 

f  See  pp.  115-117  and  244-246. 

J  On  the  i8th  of  September,  1893,  17,000  people,  it  was  said,  deposited  images 
of  Ganpati  in  the  sea  at  Bombay,  at  an  immense  cost  of  hard-earned  money  ;  and  the 
number  of  licenses  granted  and  paid  for  to  form  the  processions  for  this  purpose  was 
reported  greater  than  it  had  been  for  years. 

\  The  money  given  lately  by  a  few  individuals  to  build  new  shrines  at  Kotla  alone 
(a  village  on  our  road  to  Dharmsala)  must  have  exceeded  the  contributions  of  all  our 
native  Christians  for  two  or  three  years. 
23 


354 


LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 


tian  missionaries  and  the  aggressiveness  of  Islam  are  frequent.  New 
Colleges  and  High  Schools  are  being  occasionally  established  to  check 
and  counteract  the  influence  of  Christian  educational  institutions. 
Race  pride,  increasing  patriotism  and  the  growing  desire  for  inde- 
pendence (or  freedom  from  foreign  control)  have  done  something  in 
recent  years  to  strengthen  Christophobia.  A  dogged  tenacity  in  ad- 
hering to  ancient  but  injurious  customs,  moreover,  characterizes  the 
temper  of  the  masses,  and,  in  some  cases  at  least,  whole  neighborhoods 
are  found  ready  to  revive  the  revolting  but  unlawful  practices  of  hook- 
swinging,  suttee  and  human  sacrifice.* 

But  that  caste,  the  greatest  obstacle  to  Christianity,  is  gradually  giv- 
ing way  before  the  pressure  of  Western  civiliza- 
tion and  evangelistic  effort  seems  to  be  the 
opinion  of  most  persons  who  have  made  the 
subject  a  matter  of  close  observation.  The 
necessary  commingling  of  many  classes  in 
schools,  in  hospitals,  in  durbars,  in  railway 
trains,  in  government  service,  in  military  cam- 
paigns— the  constant  presence  of  a  ruling  race 
who  are  outcaste  and  yet  above  caste — the 
ability  of  another  religion  than  that  of  the 
Vedas  to  elevate  even  the  lowest  and  most 
despised  of  the  people  and  make  them  "  princes 
in  the  land" — the  broader  and  purer  and 
more  benevolent  teachings  of  the  prophet  of 
Galilee — the  preparatory  movements  of  the 
Holy  Spirit — are  all  having  their  effect  upon  the  ironclad  system  of 
Manu  and  beginning  to  tell  in  the  work  of  its  destruction.  And  this 
conclusion  appears  to  be  correct  notwithstanding  the  acknowledged 
fact  that  slow  progress  is  being  made  in  the  work  and  that  Hinduism 
displays  remarkable  ability  to  modify  caste  and  adapt  itself  to  new 
conditions. "I" 

Quite  sure  we  are,  too,  that  educated  and  intelligent  Hindus,  and 
especially  those  who  have  come  much  in  contact  with  missionaries, 
have  been  led,  almost  without  exception,  to  abandon  the  grosser  prac- 
tices of  the  religion  under  whose  influence  they  were  born,  and  have 

*  Only  two  years  ago  a  hook-swinging  festival  at  a  village  seventeen  miles  from 
Calcutta  was  reported  in  the  newspapers.     See  also  pages  iio-ll6 />assim. 
f  See  pp.  223-225, 


JUGGERNAUT. 


IS  HINDUISM  GROWING?  355 

been  driven,  either  into  complete  infidelity,  or  into  a  faith  drawn 
directly  from  the  Vedas,  or  into  .some  form  of  natural  religion,  or  into 
Christianity  itself.* 

And  most  of  these  persons,  too,  are  ready  for  those  social  and  legal 
reforms  which  are  suggested  and  urged  by  the  progress  of  civilization, 
even  though  the  reforms  proposed  run  counter  to  time-honored  insti- 
tutions and  strike  at  the  root  of  their  sacred  Shastras,  as  heretofore  in- 
terpreted. The  revocation  of  the  betrothal  of  girls  on  the  death  of 
their  intended  husbands,  the  establishment  of  a  higher  age  for  the  time 
of  full  consent,  the  remarriage  of  widows,  tlie  permission  to  take  sea 
voyages  without  the  loss  of  caste,  and  other  changes  of  a  similar  char- 
acter, have  for  some  years  been  advocated  by  leaders  of  Hinduism 
with  ever-increasing  prospect  of  success. 

And  in  some  instances  even  the  common  people  seem  to  share  with 
such  Hindus  a  lack  of  interest  in  the  faith  of  their  forefathers.  "  A 
Brahman,"  says  the  Messenger,  "  was  complaining  bitterly  to  one  of 
our  Amritsar  brethren  the  other  day.  His  '  burden  '  was  the  indiffer- 
ence of  Hindus  towards  their  own  creed.  He  said,  *  These  people  are 
utterly  dead  to  their  own  religion.  When  they  see  me  coming  to 
preach  to  them,  they  run  away.  And  if  by  chance  I  can  get  hold  of 
them  unawares,  then,  as  long  as  I  am  there,  they  say.  Very  good  ! 
Very  good  !  But  the  moment  my  back  is  turned,  they  say,  T/ie  old 
ass !'  " 

"Straws"  of  tliis  cliaracter  help  to  explain  and  confirm  the  statisti- 
cal fact  already  given  that  in  actual  numbers  Hinduism,  notwithstand- 
ing its  enormous  advantages,  had  in  ten  years  fallen  two  per  cent,  be- 
hind the  rest  of  India's  population  in  rapidity  of  increase. 

Contrasted  with  the  progress  of  other  faiths,  therefore,  the  growth  of 
Christianity  in  that  country  stands  forth  in  striking  and  hopeful 
prominence.  Neither  Hinduism  nor  Muhammadanism  can  show  such 
a  brilliant  record. 

The  fact,  too,  that  there  are  in  India  so  many  aborigines  and  low- 
caste  people  is  a  guarantee  that  our  efforts  to  spread  the  gospel  there 
will  continue  to  prosper.  This  class  seems  now  to  be  ready  to  flock  to 
the  Saviour  in  great  masses  ;  and,  even  if  there  were  no  other  persons 
on  whom  we  could  make  an  impression,  the  prospect  of  growth  from 
such  a  source  alone,  if  proper  means  are  used  to  secure  it,  is  enough 
to  fire  the  Christian  heart  with  enthusiastic  hope  and  burning  zeal. 
*See  pp.  114,  117,  151,  167,  175  and  238. 


356  LIFE  AND  WORK  IN  INDIA 

50,000,000  of  these  people  (as  they  have  sometimes  been  estimated),  or 
even  only  20,000,000  of  them,  thoroughly  converted  to  Christ,  would 
in  themselves  form  a  church  of  mighty  proportions ;  while  the  leverage 
which  would  be  secured  through  them  for  the  conversion  of  the  rest  of 
the  population  would  be  one  of  incalculable  power.* 

Several  dangers,  indeed,  confront  the  Christian  cause  in  India  and 
threaten  to  retard,  or  entirely  obstruct,  its  advancement. 

One  is  the  danger  of  detestable  neutrality  on  the  part  of  its  repre- 
sentatives and  of  compromise  with  the  opposing  faiths.  In  their  eager- 
ness to  be  perfectly  fair,  to  do  full  justice  to  the  excellencies  of  Hin- 
duism or  Islam,  to  extend  charity  as  far  as  possible  towards  even  idol- 
aters, and  to  uphold  the  principles  of  the  science  of  comparative  re- 
ligion in  its  most  recent  and  most  progressive  form,  some  who  aspire 
to  be  leaders  in  missionary  work  are  inclined  to  magnify  unduly  the 
ideals  of  false  religions  and  lower  the  importance  of  the  distinctive 
features  of  the  Christian  religion — thus  reducing  all  faiths,  as  far  as 
possible,  to  a  common  level,  or,  what  is  equally  bad,  blending  them  to- 
gether in  a  resultant  ideal  which  can  be  nothing  else  than  a  sublimated 
form  of  natural  religion.  Against  this  tendency  the  champions  of  the 
cross  must  set  their  faces  like  a  flint  if  they  expect  to  make  any  prog- 
ress, or  even  to  hold  their  own.  The  strength  of  Christianity  lies  in 
its  peculiar  characteristics,  and  between  it  and  every  non-Christian 
system  an  irrepressible  conflict  must  ever  be  recognized.  Its  motto, 
like  that  of  the  old  Romans,  can  be  nothing  else  than-  this,  Carthago 
delenda  est,  "Carthage  must  be  destroyed."  Tht-least  disposition  to 
parley,  or  flatter,  or  compromise  will  certainly  end  in  disaster.  As  early 
Christianity  was  sadly  corrupted  and  weakened  in  the  course  of  time  by 
ancient  heathenism,  so  by  relaxing  our  attitude  of  opposition  to  false 
religions  in  India  there  is  danger  of  a  similar  and  even  a  worse  result. 
Hinduism  has  always  displayed  wonderful  powers  of  resistance  and  re- 
cuperation. Even  when  overthrown  and  almost  destroyed  it  has  risen 
again  and  resumed  its  original  sway.  Buddhism  could  not  hold  her 
own  before  its  constant  and  well-directed  attacks,  but,  driven  from  al- 
most every  part  of  her  native  land,  was  compelled  to  find  a  home  in 
distant  regions,  Hinduism  at  an  early  date  paralyzed  all  efforts  made 
by  ancient  missionaries  to  spread  the  gospel  in  India.  It  recovered 
speedily  from  the  wounds  inflicted  upon  it  by  Roman  Catholic  emis- 
saries. It  resisted  with  remarkable  success  the  inroads  of  Muhamma- 
*See  pp.  117-iig,  242-248. 


DANGERS   THREATENING  MISSION   WORK 


357 


danism  and  even  impressed  upon  this  intruder  something  of  its  own 
character.  And  who  can  tell  but  that,  through  the  aid  of  flattery  or 
concessions  on  our  part,  it  might  eventually  make  tlie  Christian  church 
of  these  times  one  of  its  own  castes,  or  infuse  into  it  some  of  its  own 
characteristics,  or  allure  it  into  the  adoption  of  a  defective  and  soul- 
ensnaring  ideal,  or  lead  it  to  abdicate  in  favor  of  a  more  charitable 
and  "  more  rational  "  faith?* 

Another  danger  is  that  of  neglecting  the  open  door  for  the  gospel 
which  has  been  opened  up  among  the  depressed  classes.     Thank  God, 


-r*!^ 


ON  THE   JHELUM,    KASHMIR. 

many  are  entering  this  door  and  obtaining  the  reward  that  has  been 
providentially  prepared  for  their  hands.  This  is  one  of  the  most 
hopeful  signs  of  the  present  day.  But  others  have  failed  to  do  so  ; 
and  others  still,  commencing  this  lowly  work  and  apparently  growing 
tired  of  it,  are  losing  their  first  zeal  and  directing  their  chief  attention 
to  more  respectable  but  less  fruitful  labor.  In  my  opinion  the  speedy 
conversion  of  India  depends  largely  upon  the  earnestness  and  the  ef- 
ficiency with  which  efforts  are  now  made  to  evangelize  the  aborigines,  the 
outcaste  and  the  low-caste.  In  this  direction  lies  the  path  of  success. 
*  See  pp.  1 1 3-1 15,  198-201. 


358  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

Still  another  danger  is  this:  that  Missions,  prompted  by  envy, 
covetousness  or  some  other  motive,  may  forget  Cliristian  courtesy  so 
far  as  to  invade  one  another's  fields,  and,  through  their  ravages  and 
contentions,  scandalize  the  name  of  Christ,  throw  His  work  into  con- 
fusion and  hinder  the  progress  of  the  gospel.  Sad,  indeed,  has  been 
the  history  of  such  interference  heretofore,  and  scarcely  any  more  ef- 
fectual way  of  crushing  a  holy  cause  in  its  infantile  state  can  be  de- 
vised. Yet  there  is  fear  of  such  invasion — and  that,  too,  not  only  by 
such  erratic  and  lawless  skirmishers  as  Plymouth  Brethren  and  soldiers 
of  the  Salvation  Army,  and  such  avowed  opponents  as  Roman  Catho- 
lics, but  also  by  bodies  which  claim  a  place  among  the  regular  forces 
of  the  church,  are  professedly  concerned  for  the  welfare  of  the  entire 
Protestant  host,  and  would  repel,  if  they  could,  the  charge  of  adopt- 
ing dishonorable  methods  in  their  missionary  warfare.* 

A  fourth  danger  threatening  missionary  work  in  India,  and  perhaps 
the  greatest  of  all,  is  that  of  neglecting  native  Christians  and  failing 
to  develop  and  thoroughly  establish  the  native  Christian  church. 
Humanly  speaking  the  conversion  of  India  by  foreign  agents  alone,  or 
even  chiefly,  is  an  impossibility.  It  is  to  the  people  of  India  them- 
selves that  we  must  look  for  the  great  apostles  of  that  country — for  the 
leavening  influence  which  will  permeate  its  every  part  and  make  it  a 
Christian  land.  And  the  sooner  this  principle  is  fully  accepted  and 
acted  upon,  the  speedier  will  that  end  come  for  which  we  are  all 
praying.f 

The  great  duty  of  the  present  crisis  in  India  Missions,  then,  is  to 
emphasize  every  effort  which  can  be  put  forth  to  educate  and  edify  the 
people  of  God  there,  and  to  adopt  every  expedient  which  will  not  only 
bind  native  Christian  laborers  to  missionaries  with  sincere  and  ardent 
affection,  but  which  will  give  them  a  name  and  an  influence  in  their 
own  land. 

No  greater  mistake,  therefore,  can  be  made  than  that  of  despising 
native  converts,  neglecting  their  culture,  discouraging  church  organi- 
zation, undervaluing  a  native  ministry,  dishonoring  pastoral  authority 
and  withholding  from  ecclesiastical  courts  the  exercise  of  large  mission- 
ary powers  ;  and  especially  so  if  greater  attention  be  at  the  same  time 
paid  to  the  culture  of  non-Christian  Brahmans  and  Sayyids,  because, 
forsooth,  they  are  high-caste. 

The  fact,  too,  that  "New  India,"  with  its  aspirations  after  greater 

*  See  pp.  89,  95,  96,  220.  f  See  pp.  87,  167,  195  and  196. 


WHEN   WILL   INDL4   BE,    CONVERTED? 


359 


freedom  of  all  kinds  and  its  hope  of  the  creation  of  a  reformed  religion 
to  take  the  place  of  old  faiths,  is  beginning  to  raise  its  head,  should 
only  make  us  all  the  more  careful  to  avoid  this  mistake.  Of  one  thing 
we  may  rest  assured  :  that  Mission  or  Church  in  India  which  does  not 
recognize  the  spirit  of  patriotism  and  independence  now  rising  so  rap- 
idly there  among  all  classes  of  educated  people  and  that  spirit  of  con- 
scious manhood  now  affecting  so  many  of  the  more  advanced  Chris- 
tians of  the  country,  is  doomed  to  take  a  secondary,  or  a  third-rate, 
position  in  the  advancing  columns  of  the  Redeemer's  army — to  be 
shorn  of  many  of  her  brightest  and  best  leaders — to  lose  a  large  part 
of  the  rank  and  file  of  her  soldiers — perhaps,  to  be  overrun  or  entirely 
swallowed  up  by  wiser  and  more  efficient,  though  mayhap  less  scrupu- 


H...Jj^^ 


-  '  -  -  -   —^-^ 


INTERIOR    OF   A    PUNJABI    PRIVATE   COURT. 
i^From  a  Punjabi  drawing. ) 

lous,  less  courteous  and  less  honorable,  corps.  The  prosperous  and 
finally  triumphant  missionary  bands  will  be  those  which  early  appro- 
priate and  thoroughly  attach  to  themselves  the  growing  life  and 
manly  vigor  of  an  aspiring  native  Christian  community — which  love  to 
exalt  the  native  church  and  set  a  crown  upon  her  head.* 

And  we  have  faith  that  most  Missions  will  recognize,  sooner  or  later, 
this  road  to  success  and  avoid  not  only  the  last  danger  mentioned,  but 
all  the  others  to  which  we  have  referred.  This  is  one  of  the  reasons 
why  we  believe  that  Christianity  will  continue  to  advance  in  India. 

Present  indications  in  the  field,  however,  do  not  encourage  the  hope 
which  some  cherish,  that  that  country  will  be  generally  brought  to 

*  See  preceding  chapters,  here  and  there. 


360  LIFE  AAD    WORK  IN  INDIA 

Christ  in  this  generation,  or  even  in  the  next  generation.  Such  a  re- 
sult would  be  so  unlike  what  has  heretofore  occurred  that  it  could  not 
take  place  without  the  aid  of  divine  power  little  short  of  the  miracu- 
lous.* 

Nor,  on  the  other  hand,  is  The  Statesman,  a  secular  paper  of  India, 
right  perhaps  in  postponing  the  triumph  of  Christianity  there  to  a 
period  several  centuries  in  the  future — however  sincere  and  valuable  its 
testimony  may  be  to  the  excellence  of  the  work  already  done.     It  says  : 

*' '  New  India  *  probably  thinks  but  lightly  of  the  work  that  is  being 
done  by  Christian  missionaries.  These  missionaries,  however,  are 
doing  exactly  that  work  which  ought  to  be  done  by  them.  They  are 
destroying  caste  by  the  simple  but  effective  method  of  attracting  to  the 
Christian  fold  those  who  are  the  heaviest  sufferers  from  the  cruel  in- 
equalities of  caste.  They  are  destroying  the  Hindu  Pantheon  by  hold- 
ing up,  in  opposition  to  it,  a  more  beautiful  and  encouraging  picture 
of  the  Unseen  World.  The  groups  of  native  Christians,  scattered  over 
India,  occupy  in  the  midst  of  Hinduism  a  position  exactly  analogous 
to  the  early  Christian  churches  amidst  the  idolatries  of  Imperial  Rome. 
Not  more  than  eighty  years  have  passed  since  Christian  Missions  have 
been  at  work  in  India  systematically  and  continuously,  and  the  prog- 
ress made  during  that  time  has  been,  we  take  it,  quite  on  a  par  with 
the  progress  made  during  a  like  time  among  the  cities  of  Imperial 
Rome.  Four  hundred  years  divided  the  birth  of  Christ  from  the  pro- 
mulgation of  the  Imperial  decree  directing  the  abolition  of  Paganism 
throughout  the  empire ;  and  assuming  that  British  rule  endures  in  India 
for  the  next  three  centuries,  who  can  doubt  that  Christianity  at  the  end 
of  that  time  will  embody  the  strongest  spiritual  power  existing  in  the 
country."  f 

But  the  writer  of  these  pages  feels  compelled  by  the  evidence  before 
him  to  place  the  ultimate  triumph  of  Indian  Christianity  at  a  point 
somewhat  midway  between  the  present  time  and  the  year  2300.     He 

*The  writer  does  not  feel  justified  in  assuming  that  either  the  church  at  home  or 
missions  abroad  will  be  soon  visited  by  an  effusion  of  the  Spirit  much  greater  than 
that  which  might  be  expected  from  past  experience.  His  deduction  is  made  from 
facts  of  history  and  observation — including  of  course  the  well-established  fact  that 
zeal  for  missions  and  laborers  in  missions  are,  within  certain  limits,  constantly  in- 
creasing. More  than  this  he  considers  simply  speculation.  God  may  have  miracu- 
lous things  in  store  for  the  remaining  years  of  this  century,  or  this  generation,  or  He 
may  not.     We  do  not  know. 

f  Quoted  in  the  Indian  Evangelical  Review,  Vol.  XIV,  pp.  371,  372. 


AN  ENCOURAGING   PROSPECT  361 

hopes  that  the  next  century  may  witness  it ;  but  he  would  not  be  sur- 
prised to  find  that  it  is  delayed  for  half  a  century,  or  even  a  whole  cen- 
tury, longer. 

However,  even  The  Statesman  s  forecast  is  encouraging  and  all  the 
more  so  as,  with  the  progress  and  final  success  of  the  gospel  in  India, 
will  in  all  probability  be  associated  the  growth  and  complete  establish- 
ment of  Christianity  everywhere — a  result  which  has  been  appropri- 
ately illustrated  by  the  growth  of  one  of  India's  favorite  trees: 

"  The  Banyan  of  the  Indian  isle 

Spreads  deeply  down  its  massive  root, 
And  spreads  its  branching  life  abroad, 

And  bends  to  earth  with  scarlet  fruit  ; 
But  when  the  branches  reach  the  ground, 

They  firmly  plant  themselves  again  : 
They  rise  and  spread  and  droop  and  root. 

An  ever-green  and  endless  chain. 

"  And  so  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ, 

The  blessed  Banyan  of  our  God, 
Fast-rooted  upon  Zion's  mount. 

Has  sent  its  sheltering  arms  abroad ; 
And  every  branch  that  from  it  springs, 

In  sacred  beauty  spreading  wide. 
As  low  it  bends  to  bless  the  earth, 

Still  plants  another  by  its  side. 

"  Long  as  the  world  itself  shall  last, 

The  sacred  Banyan  still  shall  spread, 
From  clime  to  clime,  from  age  to  age, 

Its  sheltering  shadow  shall  be  shed. 
Nations  shall  seek  its  pillar'd  shade, 

Its  leaves  shall  for  their  healing  be  : 
The  circling  flood  that  feeds  its  life, 

The  blood  that  crimsoned  Calvary." 


THE   MULTIPLYING  BANYAN   TREE. 


CHAPTER  XXX 

THE  REFLEX  INFLUENCE  OF  MISSIONS 

Physical  Effects — Nervous  Exhaustion — Fret  and  Worry — Shortened  Life — Intellec- 
tual Stimulus — Literary  and  Linguistic  Culture — Social  Effects — Influence  on 
Patriotism — And  on  Piety — Trial  of  Temper — Opportunities  for  Private  Devo- 
tion and  the  Study  of  God's  Word — The  Atmosphere  of  Heathenism — Burns' 
Experience — Habit  of  Suspicion — Reflex  Influence  of  Autocratic  Power  and 
Secular  Work — Discouragements — Conflicts — Favorable  Side — First  Impetus  of 
Zeal — Divine  Promises — Consciousness  of  a  Great  Work — Prayers  at  Home — 
Rapid  Conversions — Opportunity  for  Compassion — Fraternal  Intercourse — Dis- 
gust at  Heathenism — Active  Evangelism — Liberality — Prospect  of  Reward — • 
A  Summing  Up — Qualifications  of  an  Indian  Missionary — Reflex  Influence  of 
Missions  on  the  Home  Church. 


HAT  influence  has  missionary  life  in  the  Punjab  upon  mis- 
sionaries themselves?  How  does  it  affect  their  physical, 
intellectual,  social,  moral  and  spiritual  nature?  This  is  a 
minor  question  ;  and  yet  it  is  one  which  is  often  thought 
of  and  sometimes  asked.  An  answer  may  be  interesting  to  most  of 
our  readers. 

Of  the  physical  effects  of  the  climate  of  India  something  has  been 

said  already  in  the  fourth  and  fifth  chapters.     Compared  with  that  of 

England  or  the  United  States  undoubtedly  the  climate  of  the  Punjab 

has  a  deleterious  effect  upon  the  bodies  of  Europeans  and  Americans. 

(362) 


NERVOUS  EXHAUSTION-  363 

This  is  due  partly  to  the  fact  that  such  persons  there  are  living  outside 
of  the  conditions  under  which  they  were  born  and  reared,  and  partly 
to  the  unhealthy  character  of  the  country  itself.  The  extreme  heat  of 
certain  seasons,  the  prevalence  of  malaria  after  the  rains,  the  filthy 
state  of  many  towns  and  villages,  the  difference  of  temperature  between 
day  and  night,  the  unavoidable  exposure  to  contagion  where  people 
are  so  numerous  and  careless  as  they  are  in  India,  and  the  lack  of 
many  medical  and  recuperative  appliances  when  persons  are  ill — all 
tend  to  increase  the  number,  the  virulence  and  the  tediousness  of  at- 
tacks from  disease,  as  well  as  the  liability  to  death. 

The  character  of  missionary  work,  too,  tends  in  the  same  direction. 
No  other  form  of  labor  so  exhausts  the  nerves  as  that  which  draws  on 
our  sensibilities,  our  sympathies  and  the  yearnings  of  our  hearts. 
Mere  muscular,  or  intellectual  work  may  be  protracted  much  longer 
than  this  without  serious  injury  to  the  nervous  system.  But  mission- 
ary labor  makes  a  heavy  draft  upon  the  feelings  of  a  worker.  Even 
the  poverty  and  physical  sufferings  of  a  degraded  people  appeal  very 
strongly  to  his  pity  and  compassion.  And  much  more,  of  course,  do 
their  spiritual  needs.  The  chief  aim  of  a  missionary,  indeed,  is  to  de- 
liver the  ignorant,  the  degraded  and  the  lost  from  everlasting  death  ; 
to  develop  among  weak  believers  a  higher  spiritual  life;  to  establish 
the  church  on  everlasting  foundations-.  Without  a  vast  amount  of 
emotion  this  labor  would  appear  hypocritical  pretence,  a  mere  sham. 
But  the  very  earnestness  which  it  requires  and  includes  makes  it  ex- 
hausting, and  soon  brings  weakness  and  disaster  to  the  most  delicate 
part  of  our  bodily  frame. 

Overwork  also,  as  a  matter  of  course,  increases  this  effect.  Yet  it  is 
hard  for  Christian  laborers  on  mission  ground  to  avoid  overwork. 
The  number  of  duties  demanding  immediate  attention  appear  to  them 
almost  boundless ;  and  there  is  no  one  but  themselves  and  their  native 
helpers  to  perform  them.  The  temptation  to  labor  beyond  their 
strength,  therefore,  is  almost  irresistible.  But  this  cannot  be  done 
without  incurring  the  penalty  which  is  always  attached  to  such  a 
course. 

Fret  and  worry,  however,  have  more  to  do  with  collapses  of  the  ner- 
vous system  and  the  gradual  breakdown  of  our  bodily  energies  than 
genuine  work.  The  latter  is  natural  and  lies  in  the  direction  in  which 
our  powers  are  made  to  operate.  With  well-oiled  machinery  we  may 
accomplish  much  of  it.     But  the  former  run  counter,  or  crosswise,  to 


364  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

the  natural  movements  of  the  soul,  produce  friction,  and  wear  terribly 
even  the  physical  organism  with  which  our  invisible  part  is  so 
mysteriously  connected.  Yet  the  missionary  has  a  great  deal  of  such 
worry  and  fret.  He  is  troubled  by  the  opposition  and  the  persecution 
of  heathen  men,  by  the  deceitfulness  of  many  inquirers,  by  the  weak- 
ness of  his  native  brethren,  by  conflicts  with  his  missionary  associates, 
by  bad  news  from  home,  by  his  own  mistakes  and  imperfections,  and 
by  the  failure  of  iiis  various  plans  for  self-improvement  or  the  advance- 
ment of  Christ's  kingdom.* 

Parallel  cases  of  like  work  and  worry  may  be  found,  no  doubt,  in 
the  home  field.  Almost  every  minister  of  Christ,  indeed,  who  is 
earnestly  devoted  to  his  calling,  may  find  himself  overwhelmed  with 
duties,  burdened  with  cares  and  vexed  with  the  ungodly  conversation 
of  the  wicked  ;  and  in  many  instances  results  follow  his  ministrations 
similar  to  those  which  we  have  been  describing.  But  beyond  the 
bounds  of  Christian  civilization  such  cases  are  more  frequent,  and  the 
conditions  of  good  health  and  long  life  in  ministerial  work  less  com- 
mon, than  they  are  in  Europe  or  America. 

Nor  is  this  a  matter  of  mere  speculation.  Statistics  can  be  brought 
to  prove  it.  From  Badley's  "Indian  Missionary  Directory"  (edition 
of  1886)  we  learn  that  the  average  length  of  the  ministries  of  377  or- 
dained men  who  had  previously  labored  and  died  in  India  was  a  little 
less  than  sixteen  years.  But  the  average  length  of  the  ministries  of 
the  216  clergymen  of  the  United  Presbyterian  Church  of  North  Amer- 
ica who  died  during  the  twenty  years  preceding  April,  1894,  was 
twenty-nine  years  and  eight  months,  or  about  eighty-seven  per  cent, 
greater  ;  and  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  United  Presbyterian 
Church,  in  this  respect,  has  been  an  exceptional  one  among  the  differ- 
ent denominations  of  the  United  States.  Possibly  this  comparison 
might  be  modified  somewhat  by  including  in  our  calculations  the 
ministries  of  those  missionaries  who,  on  account  of  ill  health,  old  age 
or  other  causes,  left  India  and  closed  their  lives  elsewhere.  But, 
granting  the  utmost  that  could  reasonably  be  demanded  by  this  con- 
sideration, we  should  probably  find  that  the  length  of  time  which  the 

*An  excellent  article  on  "  Missionary  111  Health  "  was  published  by  the  Rev. 
Wallace  Taylor,  M.  D.,  of  Japan,  in  the  Chrysanthemum  of  June,  1883,  and  is 
copied  in  the  Indian  Evangelical  Review  of  January,  1884.  It  gives  remedies 
and  suggestions  also  which  are  very  good.  To  this  article  the  writer  is  indebted  for 
some  of  the  ideas  which  he  has  just  presented. 


INTELLECTUAL    STIMULUS  365 

foreign  missionaries  can  hope  to  spend  in  religious  labor  in  that  coun- 
try is  not  more  than  two-thirds  of  what  they  might  spend  in  a  Western 
clime  and  in  a  Christian  country.  And  this  means,  of  course,  a  cor- 
responding increase  in  the  frequency  of  their  ailments,  weaknesses  and 
bodily  pains. 

On  their  intellectual  part,  missionary  life  has  in  many  ways  a  stimu- 
lating effect. 

The  opportunities  which  they  have  for  travel  enable  them  to  see 
much  of  the  world  and  the  people  of  the  world.  They  observe  many 
scenes,  pass  througli  many  experiences,  witness  many  incidents,  and 
come  in  contact  with  many  races  which,  except  for  this,  would  have 
forever  remained  to  them  comparatively  unknown.  New  varieties  of 
food,  speech  and  living,  new  styles  of  architecture,  dress  and  manners, 
new  modes  of  thought  and  religious  worship,  new  kinds  of  civilization 
or  barbarism,  arrest  their  attention,  broaden  their  views  and  arouse 
their  mental  activities.  A  journey  to  the  field  of  labor  and  one  year's 
residence  there  are  equal  to  the  reading  of  a  good-sized  library  in  their 
effect  upon  one's  intellectual  growth  and  his  acquisition  of  knowledge. 

And  the  studies  which  missionaries  are  required  to  undertake  in  the 
country  itself  have  a  similar  effect.  True,  these  are  largely  different 
from  those  which  ministers  generally  pursue  in  the  home  field.  The 
questions  of  science,  philosophy.  Biblical  criticism,  theology,  national 
reform,  homiletic  method  and  even  Scripture  interpretation,  which 
occupy  so  much  of  the  time  and  thought  of  Occidental  clergymen  re- 
ceive little  attention  in  missionary  lands.  But  in  their  place  come  the 
study  of  Oriental  tongues,  philosophies  and  religious  systems,  the  ef- 
fort to  grapple  with  error  in  forms  as  subtle  and  elaborate  as  any  that 
ever  arose  in  Europe,  the  perplexing  problems  of  church  life  in  its  new 
and  unsettled  state,  the  preparation  of  a  sound  religious  literature  and 
the  acquisition  of  all  that  varied  geographical,  historical,  political  and 
ethnological  information  which  is  necessary  to  give  the  Lord's  servants 
a  thorough  equipment  in  that  part  of  His  vineyard.  The  attainments 
of  Carey,  Wilson,  French  and  others  show  that  the  intellectual  giants 
and  learned  men  of  the  church  are  by  no  means  all  confined  to  coun- 
tries wliere  Christianity  is  thoroughly  established,  but  that  they  are 
found  also  around  campfires  in  the  forefront  of  the  army  of  God. 
Possibly,  indeed,  missionaries  as  a  class  may  stand  higher  in  such  at- 
tainments than  ministers  of  equal  length  of  service  do  at  home. 

Nor  are  they  destitute  of  the  culture  which  conies  from  the  perusal 


366  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

of  the  current  literature  of  our  time.  Of  the  British  or  American 
daily  newspaper  they  indeed  see  little.  That  record  of  accidents, 
crimes,  party  conflicts  and  political  movements  which  it  contains  is 
for  the  most  part  hid  from  their  eyes.  Only  the  great  events  of 
Europe  and  the  Western  Hemisphere  rise  high  enough  for  their  obser- 
vation. But  they  receive  a  fair  proportion  of  the  standard  papers  and 
periodicals  of  the  day,  more  perhaps  than  persons  of  a  similar  calling 
take  in  the  home  field ;  and  whatever  knowledge  they  get  of  the 
world's  progress  is  of  the  choicest  and  most  important  character. 

Moreover,  their  opportunities  of  improvement  even  in  the  English 
language  are  by  no  means  few.  As  all  the  literature  of  this  tongue 
which  they  read  is  select,  so,  as  a  consequence,  the  best  models  which 
it  can  furnish  are  ever  before  them  ;  while  the  influence  of  such  pub- 
lications is  not  neutralized  by  anything  trashy.  And  in  most  cases 
the  same  is  substantially  true  of  their  English  society.  Missionaries 
themselves  are  universally  persons  of  some  education  before  they  go 
out  to  the  field.  And,  beyond  their  own  circle,  few  are  found  to  con- 
verse with  them  in  their  mother  tongue  but  those  who  are  their  equals, 
or  superiors,  in  every  kind  of  culture.  Tlieir  tendency,  therefore,  is 
to  improve,  to  slough  any  defects  of  speech  which  they  may  possess 
and  rise  to  a  higher  type  of  style.  Slang,  bad  grammar  and  bad  pro- 
nunciation are  not  tolerated  ;  and  even  that  nasal  drawl  which  is  so 
characteristic  of  many  Americans  and  so  offensive  to  British  English- 
men is  to  some  extent  lost.  The  exactness,  too,  with  which  our 
tongue  has  to  be  taught  in  the  mission  schools  of  India  helps  to 
develop  accuracy  of  speech,  as  also  does  the  critical  habit  which  is 
acquired  in  learning  other  languages  in  that  polyglot  land.  Mission- 
aries, moreover,  write  more  books  and  more  articles  for  public  print 
than  the  average  clergyman  does  at  home  and  in  this  way  cultivate 
their  literary  powers.  True,  the  habit  which  they  have,  in  talking 
with  one  another,  of  interlarding  English  conversation  with  foreign 
words  and  phrases,  and  also  that  of  thinking  a  great  deal  in  strange 
tongues,  to  say  nothing  of  other  causes,  sometimes  give  them  a  hesi- 
tating manner  and  awkward  phraseology  when  first  called  upon  to 
address  British  or  American  audiences ;  but  probably  the  percentage 
of  first-class  English  writers  and  speakers  among  them  is  as  high  as 
that  which  can  be  found  among  people  of  a  similar  calling  in  the 
home  field.  Certainly  as  long  as  they  can  produce  such  orators  as 
Drs.  Duff,  Lansing,  Jessup,  and  Phillips,  and  such  authors  as  Paton, 


SOCIAL   EFFECTS— PATRIOTISM 


367 


Gordon,    Dennis,    Miss  West  and  Mrs.   Maxwell,  they  need    not  be 
ashamed  of  their  brethren  in  any  department  of  rhetoric. 

The  social  effect  of  missionary  life  on  those  who  engage  in  it  may 
be  considered  good  or  bad  according  to  the  standpoint  from  which  it 
is  viewed.  As  a  training  school  for  "society  "  in  the  technical  sense 
of  that  word  such  a  life  is  very  poor.  Except  in  rare  cases,  ievf 
opportunities  are  given,  or  at  least  embraced,  for  experiences  of  this 
nature.  The  opportunities  had  in  India,  however,  whenever  they  do 
occur,  are  of  a  superior  character.  Perhaps  no  class  of  people  in  the 
world,  aside  from  aristocracy  or  royalty  themselves,  are  stricter  in 
their  adherence  to  good  form,  when  they  meet  in  a  social  way,  than 


PUNJABIES    CAMPING    FOR    THE    NIGHT. 
{From  a  Punjabi  drawing.) 

Anglo-Indians,  although  their  society  rules  differ  very  much  from 
those  which  prevail  in  America.  But  the  missionary's  chief  com- 
panionship is  found  among  his  fellow-laborers,  foreign  and  native, 
and  this,  of  course,  lacks  many  of  the  characteristics  of  fashionable 
life.  Still,  on  that  very  account  it  is  best  for  his  work.  It  trains  him 
to  reach  powerfully  many  classes  of  men  in  that  needy  land.* 

How  is  it  with  your  patriotism  ?  some  one  asks.  Does  your  love 
of  your  own  country  die  out  through  a  sojourn  in  foreign  lands?  By 
no  means.  The  Fourth  of  July,  the  Stars  and  Stripes,  the  prosperity 
of  the  American  Republic,  continue  as  dear  to  us  as  ever.  And  this, 
too,  not  only  because  it  is  our  native  land,  but  also  because  we  think 
it  the  best  country  upon  earth,  a  country  where  nature  has  lavished 

*  See  pp.  63-67. 


368  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

her  greatest  favors,  civilization  is  working  out  her  most  wonderful 
problems  and  Christianity  is  achieving  her  grandest  triumphs — the 
leader,  indeed,  in  the  great  procession  of  advancing  humanity.  But 
our  patriotism  acquires  chastening  and  correction  by  residence  abroad. 
We  see  the  excellencies  of  other  governments  and  the  defects  of  our 
own  better  than  at  home.  We  see,  too,  that  universal  suffrage  and 
republican  institutions  are  adapted  only  to  a  people  of  high  culture 
and  Christian  civilization,  that  in  many  cases  a  different  kind  of  rule 
answers  the  great  end  of  national  life  better  than  that  which  has 
properly  been  adopted  in  the  United  States.  We  are  also  led  to  see 
clearly  that,  among  the  people  of  every  nation  and  over  every  other 
human  government,  there  is  a  kingdom  established — higher  and  better 
than  them  all,  and  one  which  demands  our  supreme  allegiance — a  king- 
dom whose  dominion  is  everlasting  and  whose  progress  will  continue 
until  it  fills  the  whole  earth.  To  this  universal  and  perpetual  empire 
we  become  more  strongly  attached. 

It  must  be  admitted  also  that  as  years  roll  on  and  home  friends  pass 
away,  as  acquaintance  with  American  affairs  diminishes,  and  foreign 
associations  grow  stronger,  as  Oriental  habits  become  fixed  and 
interest  in  mission  work  acquires  the  strength  of  a  second  nature,  little 
desire  remains  in  the  heart  of  a  foreign  laborer  to  return  to  the  land 
of  his  birth,  unless,  indeed,  it  be  for  the  sake  of  his  children.  Many 
would  rather  live  and  die  where  they  have  worked  so  long  and  be 
buried  among  the  people  to  whose  eternal  good  they  have  been 
specially  devoted.  That  is  more  like  home  than  any  other  spot  on 
earth. 

Whether  missionary  life  is  calculated  to  have  a  good  or  a  bad  effect 
upon  the  piety  of  those  who  engage  in  it  is  a  question  upon  both  sides 
of  which  much  can  be  said. 

No  doubt  the  climate  is  apt  to  try  one's  temper.  During  the  dry, 
parching  heat  of  May  and  June,  or  the  sultry,  steaming  heat  of  July 
and  August,  Satan  finds  many  opportunities  for  a  powerful  attack  upon 
suffering,  unwary  souls.  It  is  hard  then  to  maintain  that  sweetness 
and  equanimity  of  spirit  which  ought  to  characterize  a  Christian 
laborer.  Piety  transplanted  from  a  temperate  to  a  tropical  zone  is 
likely  to  wither  when  the  thermometer  rises  to  ii8  degrees  in  the 
shade  and  170  in  the  sun.  Provocation  from  human  sources,  too,  is 
sure  then  to  be  at  its  most  active  point.  If  outbreaks  or  storrhs  ever 
arise  among  either  natives  or  foreigners  they  are  certain   to  occur  in 


EFFECT  ON    THE    TEMPER   AND   PRIVATE  DEVOTION     369 

the  summer  season.  Even  if  missionary  correspondence  is  undated, 
an  expert  might  often  discover  by  its  very  tone  during  what  part  of 
tlie  year  it  was  written.  Hot  season  letters  are  frequently  "  tales  of 
woe."  "  A  good  many  vexations  of  late  " — "  I  am  too  much  out  of 
humor  to  write" — "  This  hot  moist  weather  seems  to  put  me  all  out 
of  sorts  entirely.  I  have  very  little  appetite,  and  my  stomach  seems 
all  out  of  order,  and  my  nerves  are  not  in  good  shape  at  all."  These 
are  specimens  of  the  summer  communications  which  we  get. 

The  diseases  of  the  country,  too,  produce  a  peculiarly  harassing 
effect  upon  the  temper.  Everybody  knows  how  liver  complaint,  dys- 
pepsia, malarial  fever  and  affections  of  the  nervous  system  tend  to 
depress  the  spirits  of  a  patient  and  make  him  irritable.  Despondency, 
gloom,  fault-finding,  and  sensitiveness  are  likely  to  find  in  such  a  vic- 
tim a  ready  soil.  And  similar  to  this  is  the  effect  of  that  physical  and 
mental  exhaustion  which  comes  from  overwork,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
worry  and  fret  which  arise  from  many  causes  and  of  which  we  have 
already  written  in  this  chapter.* 

The  lack  of  suitable  opportunities  for  devotion  may  also  be  men- 
tioned as  one  of  the  unfavorable  conditions  under  which  missionaries 
cultivate  their  heavenly  graces.  Of  the  pious  Robert  Murray  McCheyne 
it  is  said  that  his  morning  hours  were  set  apart  for  communion  with 
God  and  the  nourishment  of  his  own  soul ;  and  such  has  been  the 
practice  of  almost  all  who  have  ever  become  rich  in  spiritual  experience. 
But  during  a  great  part  of  the  year  this  practice  is  an  impossibility  in 
India.  Most  of  the  morning  hours  there  must  be  devoted  to  other 
work  than  private  contemplation.  Nor  do  the  foreign  workers  hold 
many  devotional  meetings  among  themselves  for  mutual  profit,  their 
time  being  so  fully  occupied  with  other  matters,  to  say  nothing  of  their 
scattered  state.  Nor  do  they  ever  get  a  chance  of  attending  those 
great  conventions  and  revival  meetings,  where  religious  feeling  is 
exalted  to  a  lofty  pitch,  and  where  so  many  in  Christian  lands  rise  to 
higher  and  higher  planes  of  spiritual  attainment,  and  receive  impres- 
sions for  good  which  remain  while  life  lasts.  For  many  years,  too, 
young  missionaries  labor  under  the  disadvantage  of  worshiping  God 
on  almost  all  public  occasions  through  a  language  which  is  imperfectly 
understood.  This  distracts  their  thoughts,  obstructs  their  apprehension 
of  the  meaning  of  a  discourse,  and,  in  every  exercise,  hinders  that 
freedom  of  intellectual  and  emotional  movement  which  is  necessary  to 

*  See  also  Chapters  IV  and  V. 
24 


370  LIFE   AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

delightful  and  profitable  worship.  The  rays  of  divine  truth  and  love 
shine  but  dimly  through  such  a  hazy  medium  and  exert  but  half  their 
gracious  power  upon  a  waiting  soul.  How  often  have  missionaries 
longed,  not  only  for  those  grand  congregations  and  inspiring  move- 
ments at  home,  which  lift  men  out  of  and  above  themselves,  but  also 
for  songs  and  prayers  and  sermons  in  their  mother  tongue  !  Urdu,  or 
Punjabi,  seems  like  an  interfering  stranger,  an  ally  of  Satan.* 

As  a  general  thing,  too,  ordained  ministers  in  a  foreign  mission  field 
give  less  time  to  the  close  study  of  God's  word  than  ministers  in 
Christian  lands,  and  this  tends  to  prevent  the  expansion  of  their 
religious  life.  Every  one  who  has  been  an  American  pastor  knows 
what  a  stimulating  effect  he  receives  from  the  weekly  preparation  of 
sermons  for  his  people,  liow  his  faith  is  deepened  and  his  spiritual 
character  broadened  by  the  prayerful,  studious  investigation  of  Bible 
truth  and  the  effort  to  bring  his  researches  with  clearness,  warmth  and 
power  home  to  his  hearers.  Each  sermon  is,  or  at  least  should  be,  a 
stepping-stone  to  heaven.  It  is  thus  that  God  sanctifies  his  laborers  as 
well  as  their  congregations.  Missionaries  have  little  leisure  for  this 
work.  Their  discourses  are  almost  always  prepared  hurriedly,  often 
on  an  itinerating  march  or  on  the  last  day  of  the  week,  and  can  very 
seldom  be  thought  out,  or  written  down,  in  every  detail.  They  are 
compelled  to  preach  too  frequently,  and  perform  too  many  other  duties, 
to  delve  very  deeply  into  the  meaning,  or  follow  out  very  fully  the 
bearing,  of  Scripture  texts.  Nor  is  it  often  necessary  for  them  to 
pursue  such  studies.  Most  of  their  preaching  is  to  the  unconverted, 
and  they  need  only  present  the  first  principles  of  the  doctrine  of  Christ. 
But  this  is  a  disadvantage  as  far  as  their  own  spiritual  improvement  is 
concerned. f 

The  atmosphere  of  heathenism  is  also  against  the  religious  advance- 
ment of  missionaries.  This  was  felt  very  much  by  the  Rev.  W.  C. 
Burns  in  China.  ''What  need,"  says  he,  "have  I  of  the  presence  of 
the  Lord  of  the  Sabbath  in  a  land  like  this,  that  I  may  not  lose  my 
own  soul  in  seeking  to  save  the  souls  of  others  !  .  .  .  Were  it  not  my 
abiding  conviction  that  the  Lord  hath  sent  me  here,  and  that  His 
grace  is  made  sufficient  for  us  in  all  circumstances,  I  would  some- 
times be  overwhelmed  when  regarding  the  state  of  this  blinded  people 
and  the  danger  to  which  my  own  soul  is  exposed  in  dwelling  among 

*See  also  pp.  86,  87,  140.  f  See  pp.  156,  157, 


HABIT  OF  SUSPICION  ENGENDERED  371 

them."*  And  well  does  his  biographer  remark,  "  Most  of  us  little 
think  how  hard  a  thing  it  must  be  for  a  solitary  wanderer  in  such  a 
land  as  China  to  maintain  the  life  of  Christian  godliness  in  the  very 
atmosphere  and  element  of  heathenism — without  a  Sabbath  ;  without 
Christian  fellowship  or  brotherhood;  without  a  Christian  face  to  look 
into,  or  a  Christian  hand  to  grasp;  with  an  utter  disbelief  of  all 
Christian  truths,  and  of  everything  belonging  to  a  higher  world,  looking 
out  from  the  eyes  of  all  around  him  ;  with  nothing  left  to  feed  the 
inner  springs  of  the  soul  but  his  Bible,  his  closet  (if  indeed  he  can 
command  a  closet),  and  his  God.  The  brightest  lamp  will  burn  dim 
in  an  impure  and  rarified  atmosphere. "  f  These  words  might  be 
applied  to  life  in  India  now  except  so  far  as  they  are  modified  by  the 
existence  there  of  a  measure  of  Christian  society  and  the  beginnings 
of  Christ's  Kingdom. 

One  bad  habit  which  is  likely  to  be  engendered  and  strengthened 
in  the  heart  of  a  missionary  by  this  condition  of  the  people  is  a  dis- 
trust of  persons  with  whom  he  comes  in  contact,  a  suspicion  that  others 
are  acting  from  bad  motives  and  guilty  of  bad  acts.  First,  perhaps, 
he  discovers  the  treachery  and  dishonesty  of  servants;  then  the  false- 
hood and  trickery  of  tradesmen  ;  then  the  untrustworthiness  of  almost 
every  Hindu,  Muhammadan  or  low-caste  man  with  whom  he  has  any- 
thing to  do  ;  then  the  deceitfulness  of  many  false  inquirers  or  imperfect 
Christians ;  and  this  discovery  of  widespread  depravity  makes  him 
ready  to  suspect  everybody,  even  the  best  of  his  native  brethren,  even 
his  European  and  American  associates.  In  other  words  a  spirit  is 
likely  to  be  fostered  the  farthest  remove  possible  from  that  charity 
which  "hopeth  all  things"  and  "thinketh  no  evil."  No  wonder  a 
Chinese  missionary  wrote  once  as  follows:  "Though  physically  in 
splendid  health,  I  do  need,  oh,  so  much,  to  go  home.  I  am  soaked 
and  saturated,  not  in  heathenism,  but  in  the  type  of  character  pro- 
duced by  centuries  of  heathenism.  I  should  like  to  see  if  I  could 
regain,  before  it  is  hopelessly  too  late,  a  little  of  my  old  trust  in  my 
fellow-man.  I  sliould  like  to  see  what  it  would  feel  like  to  go  a  whole 
day  without  having  a  thought  of  suspicion  or  doubt  about  any  one 
around  me  ;  to  take  everything  I  hear  said  to  me  in  the  entire  day  for 
the  face  value  of  it,  without  discounting  a  fraction  of  a  per  cent.  ;  and 
to  have  my  own  word  taken  in  the  same  way ;  to  feel  that  no  one  was 
weighing  me  in  the  balance,  to  see  whether  I  was  one  who  wished  to 

*"  Life  of  W.  C.  Burns,"  pp.  357,  359.  f  "  Life  of  W.  C.  Burns,"  p.  387. 


372 


LIFE   AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 


overreach,  or  one  who  could  be  very  easily  overreached.     What  will 
cure  me  is  nothing  else  in  this  world  but  just  home."  * 

Another  thing  which  is  apt  to  affect  the  spirit  of  a  missionary  is  the 
autocratic  power  which  he  wields.  He  is  a  sahtb,  an  employer,  a 
master.  He  has  servants,  coolies,  artisans,  Christian  workers  under 
him.  He  hires  and  dismisses  at  his  pleasure.  He  says  to  one  go  and 
he  goeth ;  to  another  do  this  and  he  doeth  it.  Scores  of  people  await 
the  mandate  of  his  will  and  either  bask  in  his  smiles  or  tremble  at  iiis 

frown .  There  is  danger  of  this 
relation  producing  its  ordinary 
and  natural  effect,  making  him 
proud,  unsympathetic,  domi- 
neering, exacting,  impatient, 
severe,  unjust,  a  lover  of 
power,  and  especially  so  when 
there  is  with  it  all  the  con- 
sciousness of  a  superiority  of 
race,  and  also  blood-relation- 
ship to  the  rulers  of  the  land. 
Some  have  likened  the  effect 
to  that  which  slavery  has  over 
slaveholders.  Great  watch- 
fulness and  prayer  are  neces- 
sary if  the  missionary  is  to 
continue  free  from  it.  A 
proper  Christian  spirit  is 
maintained  with  much  diffi- 
culty under  such  circum- 
stances; and  the  provocations  received  from  subordinates  only  add  to 
this  difficulty. f 

The  secular  work  which  missionaries  have  to  do  may  also  be  men- 
tioned as  one  of  the  unfortunate  characteristics  of  their  life.  Such 
work  is  not  necessarily  injurious  to  religious  progress,  but  it  is  far  from 
being  favorable  to  it.  It  is  hard  for  the  spirit  to  rise  above  business 
cares  and  attach  itself  warmly  to  higher  things.  The  world  sweeps  in 
on  the  soul  and,  like  an  eastern  luh,  dries  up  its  juices.  Yet  the  mis- 
sionary, as  we  have  already  seen,  has  a  great  deal  of  secular  work  to 
perform,  far  more  than  an  ordinary  minister  at  home,  where  there  are 
*  See  pp.  59,  123-128.  f  See  pp.  66,  67,  137-139.  273.  341-344- 


HUMEWAKD    BOUND. 


DISCOURAGEMENTS  AND   CONFLICTS  373 

plenty  of  other  people  ready  and  fitted  to  build  churches  and  "serve 
tables."* 

Add  to  all  this  the  discouragements  of  every  kind  which  a  mission- 
ary is  continually  encountering  and  we  discover  another  jungle  of 
difficulties  obstructing  his  progress  towards  heaven.  Kis  heart  is  set 
on  the  conversion  of  this  or  that  man,  on  the  establishment  of  this  or 
that  congregation,  on  the  adoption  or  the  abolition  of  this  or  that 
custom,  on  the  development  of  the  native  church  in  this  or  that  direc- 
tion, on  the  success  of  a  multitude  of  plans  and  purposes,  great  or 
small,  which  he  feels  would  help  the  cause  for  which  he  is  laboring  ; 
but  in  many  cases  he  meets  with  failure  and  disappointment.  The 
gospel  car  moves  but  slowly,  or  not  at  all.  He  is  checked,  rebuffed, 
circumvented — whichever  way  he  turns — and  there  is  no  help.  Under 
such  circumstances  piety  is  likely  to  be  dwarfed.  It  is  hard  to  "walk 
by  faith,"  without  any  "sight."  "Hope  deferred  maketh  the  heart 
sick."  Only  by  keeping  close  to  the  Saviour  can  he  exclaim  with  the 
apostle  Paul,  "  We  are  troubled  on  every  side,  yet  not  distressed  ;  we 
are  perplexed,  but  not  in  despair ;  persecuted,  but  not  forsaken  ;  cast 
down,  but  not  destroyed." 

And  then,  to  crown  all,  come  the  debates  which  he  is  sometimes 
compelled  to  carry  on  with  his  fellow-laborers.  It  is  rare  to  find  a 
missionary  without  an  opinion  of  his  own  and  a  determined  will. 
One  could  hardly  get  to  the  field  without  these  traits  of  character. 
It  requires  resolution  and  strong  conviction  for  a  man  to  leave  home 
and  friends  and  civilization  to  work  in  a  distant  land  among  earth's 
degraded  ones.  These  are  the  characteristics  which  more  than  any- 
thing else,  perhaps,  differentiate  his  spirit  from  that  of  the  average 
minister  at  home.  Independence,  and  self-reliance,  too,  are  culti- 
vated by  the  nature  of  his  employment.  But  these  are  the  very  things 
which  may  bring  him  into  trouble  when  he  gets  thoroughly  down  to 
work.  Questions  of  expediency,  policy  and  principle  arise,  which  are 
felt  to  be  important,  and  on  whose  decision  the  whole  future  of  the 
Lord's  cause  there  seems  to  depend.  As  might  be  expected,  there- 
fore, differences  of  opinion  arise  in  regard  to  their  proper  settlement 
and  controversies  are  started.  Now  it  is  hard  to  prevent  such  controver- 
sies from  degenerating  into  unseemly  and  personal  strife.  The  gravity 
of  the  questions  themselves,  the  smallness  of  the  circle  in  which  they 
are  discussed,  the  earnestness  of  the  contestants,  and  the  fact  that 
.    *  See  Chapter  XIV. 


374  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

climate,  ill-health  or  some  other  cause  may  have  affected  their  temper 

all  combine  to  render  a  calm,  dignified  and  happy  solution,  in  some 

cases,  at  least,  impossible.  Once  in  a  while  storms  are  almost  sure  to 
arise.  Yet  every  one  will  admit  that  this  state  of  things,  whenever  it 
does  occur,  is  unfLivorable  to  the  growth  of  piety  and  that  those  who 
experience  it  must  journey  heavenward  in  the  face  of  a  heavy  gale. 

But  there  is  another  side  to  this  subject.  Circumstances  favorable  to 
spiritual  progress  may  also  be  pointed  out  in  the  lot  of  a  missionary. 

At  the  very  outset  is  that  impulse  towards  high  and  holy  things 
which  a  call  to  missionary  work  implies  and  gives.  In  almost  every 
instance  a  struggle  takes  place  in  the  soul ;  there  are  deep  searchings 
of  heart ;  the  foundations  of  personal  piety  undergo  examination  ; 
the  needs  of  a  lost  and  rained  world  rise  prominently  into  view;  a 
deep  yearning  for  the  salvation  of  men  takes  possession  of  the  heart; 
difficulties,  dangers  and  sacrifices  only  add  fuel  to  the  flame  ;  a  new 
baptism  is  experienced  and  a  new  consecration  of  self  to  the  glory  of 
God  is  made.  Under  this  impetus  the  missionary  cuts  the  cords 
which  bind  him  to  the  home  land  and  launches  forth  bravely  in  the 
pursuit  of  his  lofty  aim.  The  momentum  which  he  thus  receives  is 
likely  to  benefit  his  whole  future  character  and  carry  him  forward 
many  degrees  in  his  religious  life. 

Very  clearly,  too,  can  he  claim  the  promises  of  God,  going  forth  as 
he  does  in  obedience  to  our  Lord's  great  command,  "  Go  ye  and  make 
disciples  of  all  the  nations,  baptizing  them  into  the  name  of  the 
Father  and  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost  :  teaching  them  to 
observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  commanded  you."  The  words,  "  Lo, 
I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world,"  are  continually 
ringing  in  his  ears  and  sustaining  his  heart.  He  feels  that  the  One  to 
whom  "all  power  has  been  given  in  heaven  and  in  earth,"  is  his 
Leader  and  will  ever  remain  his  protecting,  enlightening  and  helping 
Friend. 

A  conscious  sense  of  the  great  work  which  is  given  him  to  do  also 
helps  to  dignify  and  establish  a  missionary's  soul  and  make  him  vigi- 
lant in  regard  to  his  own  spiritual  life.  He  knows  that  he  is  engaged 
in  founding  a  new  church,  in  starting  a  movement  whose  influence 
will  be  felt  for  generations  and  that  its  whole  character  for  centuries 
perhaps  will  be  determined  by  his  teaching,  his  example  and  his  spirit. 
In  short,  he  is  conscious  of  being  an  apostle,*  a  successor  (in  all  but 
*The  word  apostle  means  literally  a  missionary,  one  sent  forth. 


STIMULANTS    TO   PIETY 


375 


inspired  power)  of  Peter  and  Paul,  and  feels  that  he  is  doing  apostolic 
work.  This  knowledge  tends  to  develop  his  carefulness,  his  sincerity, 
his  prayerfulness  and  his  consistency. 

He  is  aware,  too,  that  the  Christian  world,  especially  his  own 
church  at  home,  is  watching  his  course  with  deep  interest  and  expect- 
ing him  to  act  as  their  fit  representative  ;  and  this  fact  is  apt  to  pro- 
duce the  same  effect  as  that  wliich  has  just  been  mentioned. 


KALBADEVI    ROAD,    BOMBAY. 
(The  scene  of  the  riots  ofiSgj.) 


He  knows  also  that  thousands  of  God's  people  are  praying  for  him 
and  for  the  success  of  his  work.  '  This  is  a  great  incentive  to  holiness 
and  a  great  help  in  the  prosecution  of  his  labors.  Perhaps  no  other 
single  thing  is  more  thought  of,  or  more  prized,  by  those  who  have 
gone  far  hence  to  bear  the  gospel  to  the  heathen.  If  persons  at  home 
only  realized  this  fact  they  would  certainly  pray  for  missionaries  more 
than  they  do. 


376  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

Again,  the  rapidity  with  which  converts  are  made  helps  to 
strengthen  the  faith  of  those  who  are  engaged  in  missionary  work  and 
fill  them  with  holy  enthusiasm  for  the  cause  of  Christ.  Every  one 
knows  how  a  time  of  ingathering,  when  sinners  are  flocking  to  the 
Saviour  by  scores  and  hundreds,  stirs  the  hearts  of  God's  people, 
increases  their  attachment  to  the  Christian  religion  and  brings  them 
nearer  the  Master.  Just  such  a  thing  is  likely  to  be  the  result  in  a 
heathen  land  under  similar  conditions. 

Compassion  for  souls,  converted  and  unconverted,  has  also  a  chas- 
tening, sweetening  effect  upon  the  human  heart.  And  how  much  call 
for  this  is  there  among  the  multitudes  of  India  !  How  many  are  scat- 
tered abroad  as  sheep  having  no  shepherd  !  How  many  are  dying 
daily  without  a  knowledge  of  Jesus  !  How  many  Christians  are  weak 
and  ignorant,  mere  babes  in  Christ  !  How  many  are  destitute  even 
of  the  temporal  necessaries  of  life  !  What  an  appeal  is  made  to  the 
tender,  sympathetic  feelings  of  a  genuine  missionary  ! 

Fraternal  intercourse  with  Christian  fellow-laborers,  too,  is  a  means 
which  God  uses  to  keep  the  sacred  flame  of  piety  up  to  a  glowing 
point.  And  when  they  meet  there  is  much  of  this  among  mission- 
aries. They  seem  like  members  of  one  family.  They  are  every  one 
exiles  on  a  foreign  shore.  Their  tastes,  sympathies,  antipathies  and 
aims  are  all  very  similar.  They  pray  for  each  other,  and  extend  to 
one  another  a  helping  hand,  as  readily  and  as  feelingly  as  though  they 
were  brothers  and  sisters  of  the  same  household.  Sometimes  this 
close  relationship  embitters  and  deepens  strife  and  makes  individuals  too 
free  in  speaking  of  the  faults  of  their  fellows,  but  its  influence  on  the 
whole  is  beneficial.     The  collected  coals  warm  more  than  they  burn.* 

The  deadening  effect  of  heathenism  upon  the  piety  of  those  who  are 
brought  under  its  influence  has  already  been  referred  to.  But  there  is 
another  point  of  view  which  may  be  taken  of  this  system.  Heathen- 
ism, through  its  evils,  is  also  apt  to  disgust  and  repel  a  healthy  mind. 
And  this  is  the  effect  which  is  more  generally  felt  by  a  missionary. 
He  sees  the  follies,  the  absurdities,  the  falsehoods  and  the  degrading 
morals  of  false  religions  and  their  adlrerents,  and  recoils  from  them  with 
decided  aversion.  Christianity,  through  mere  contrast,  only  stands 
out  all  the  more  clearly  as  of  divine  origin.  Calmly  and  without  ef- 
fort he  clings  to  it  as  the  sole  remedy  for  our  race.  His  faith  is 
strengthened  rather  than  weakened.  He  becomes  firm  as  a  rock. 
*  See  pp.  63,  99  and  100. 


ADVANTAGES  IN  FAVOR    OF  PIETY  377 

That  very  freedom  also,  with  which  a  Hindu,  or  a  Muhammadan, 
confesses  and  upholds  his  faith  induces  similar  freedom  on  the  part  of 
a  Christian  in  maintaining  his  own  religion.  It  is  easy  for  him  to 
preach  "  Christ  and  Him  crucified."  Instead  of  hiding  Jesus,  or  being 
ashamed  of  His  work,  he  delights  in  praising  an  incomparable  Master 
and  glories  in  the  privilege  of  extending  His  cause.  And  this,  of 
course,  has  naturally  a  beneficial  effect  upon  his  piety.  The  more  he 
commits  himself  to  the  truth  and  stands  up  for  Jesus  the  better  Chris- 
tian soldier  he  becomes.* 

Perhaps,  too,  there  is  no  class  of  persons  engaged  in  Christian  work 
who  are  less  concerned  about  their  own  worldly  prosperity  than  mis- 
sionaries. Of  private  secular  business  they  have  little  to  trouble  them. 
Nor  does  concern  about  fashion,  dress  or  social  standing  have  any 
material  effect  upon  their  mind.  Thus,  being  as  far  as  possible  free 
from  the  vexations  and  the  cares  of  this  world,  they  can  devote  their 
time  and  thoughts  to  better  things.  This  is  one  of  their  great  spiritual 
advantages,  f 

And  they  can  claim  the  blessing  also,  which  is  attached  to  great  lib- 
erality; for  scarcely  a  foreign  worker  can  be  found  who  does  not  give 
at  least  one-tenth  of  his  income  to  religious  and  charitable  objects. 
Nor  is  this  done  ostentatiously,  but  as  occasion  arises  in  the  course  of 
his  work.  If  then  it  is  true  that  "  the  liberal  soul  shall  be  made  fat 
and  he  that  watereth  shall  be  watered  also  himself,"  a  missionary 
ought  to  expect  a  large  and  perpetual  increase  of  grace.  And  this 
blessing  ought  to  be  heightened  also  by  the  fact  that  his  gifts  are  ac- 
companied in  their  distribution  by  personal  effort  for  the  good  of 
others.  "  If  thou  draw  out  thy  soul  to  the  hungry,"  says  Isaiah,  "  and 
satisfy  the  afflicted  soul ;  then  shall  thy  light  rise  in  obscurity,  and  thy 
darkness  be  as  noonday :  and  the  Lord  shall  guide  thee  continually, 
and  satisfy  thy  soul  in  drought,  and  make  fat  thy  bones ;  and  thou 
shalt  be  like  a  watered  garden,  and  like  a  spring  of  water,  whose  wa- 
ters fail  not." 

The  missionary,  again,  is  as  likely  as  any  to  be  cheered  and  stimu- 
lated in  his  Christian  course  by  the  prospect  of  a  glorious  reward. 
Feeling  that  his  work  is  an  important  one  and  that  many  souls  now 
and  hereafter  will  be  saved  through  his  instrumentality,  he  seeks  more 
and  more  the  great  privilege  of  saying  at  last,  "  Behold,!  and  the  chil- 
dren which  God  hath  given  me."     He  feels  confident  that,  though  at 

*See  pp.  151  and  152.  -t  See  pp.  56,  57,  61-63. 


378  LIFE  AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

present  he  "goes  forth  weeping,  bearing  precious  seed,"  he  will  event- 
ually return  to  the  Lord  in  joy,  "bringing  his  sheaves  with  him." 
The  anticipation  of  this  happy  hour  is  apt  to  deepen  his  earnestness 
and  stimulate  his  efforts  as  he  presses  forward  towards  a  heavenly  goal. 

Whether  missionaries  are  more  affected  by  the  favorable  than  the 
unfavorable  circumstances  in  which  they  are  placed,  whether  as  pil- 
grims they  travel  more  rapidly  or  more  tardily  towards  the  celestial 
city  than  their  brethren  do  at  home,  is  a  question  which  it  would  be 
hard  to  answer.  No  doubt  there  is  a  great  diversity  of  experience 
among  them.  Some  ripen  fast  for  heaven  and  acquire  much  loveliness 
of  character.  Others  show  frequently  the  depressing  and  embarrassing 
effects  of  their  unsanctified  natures  and  evil  surroundings.  The  chariot 
wheels  of  their  piety  run  heavily.  One  thing  is  certain  however; 
scarcely  a  missionary  can  be  found  who  is  not  fascinated  by  the  life 
which  he  has  adopted  and  does  not  wish  to  return  to  his  field  of  labor, 
who  would  not  rather  serve  the  Master  on  heathen  ground  than  among 
the  churches  at  home;  and,  in  analyzing  this  preference,  we  often  dis- 
cern in  it  not  only  an  attachment  to  Oriental  ways  and  a  conviction 
that  foreign  laborers  have  superior  opportunities  of  doing  good,  but 
also  a  consciousness  that,  in  spite  of  all  the  hindrances  to  be  found  in 
his  ministry  abroad,  a  laborer  can  there  live  nearer  the  Saviour  and 
have  more  precious  communion  with  God.  And  especially  may  this  be 
said  of  lay  workers,  who,  being  mostly  women,  are  more  seldom  called 
upon  to  bear  the  secular  drudgery  of  missionary  life  than  ordained 
men,  and  who,  if  they  remained  in  the  church  at  home,  would,  in  all 
probability,  simply  tread  the  path  of  ordinary  Christians. 

From  what  has  been  said  it  is  easy  to  infer  the  proper  qualifications 
of  a  good  India  missionary.  Evidently  he  should  have  a  sound  body, 
especially  good  nerves,  a  good  liver,  a  good  stomach  and  good  eyes. 
Above  all  he  should  be  proof,  if  possible,  against  the  insidious  attacks 
of  malaria.  Again,  he  should  be  able  to  read,  write  and  speak  his  own 
language  with  accuracy,  fluency  and  force,  as  a  guaranty  that  he  will 
also  be  able  to  acquire  and  use  new  tongues  in  a  similar  way.  He 
ought,  moreover,  to  have  a  good  mind  in  many  particulars.  All  kinds 
of  talent  can  be  utilized,  and  the  greater  the  variety  the  better.  There 
is  as  much  need  for  intellect  and  statesmanship  on  mission  ground  as 
in  a  more  established  condition  of  the  church.  Good  organizing  and 
administrative  ability,  too,  and  even  mechanical  genius,  are  valuable 
at  the  present  time  in  mission  fields.     If  a  man  is  able  to  change  his 


QUALIFICATIONS    OF  A    GOOD    INDIA    MISSIONARY        379 

employment  readily  and  adapt  himself  to  new  circumstances  and  du- 
ties without  much  difficulty,  he  has  a  nature  happily  fitted  for  the  work 
of  a  foreign  missionary.  And  this,  implies,  of  course,  a  self-sacrificing 
spirit,  not  merely  that  heroic  kind,  which  leads  one  to  bear  great 
losses  and  crosses  for  Christ's  sake,  and  which  every  missionary  is  sup- 
posed to  have,  but  that  less  showy,  equally  useful  and  possibly  rarer 
kind  which  enables  one  to  bear  little  inconveniences  and  annoyances 
without  murmuring.  Patience  is  nearly  allied  to  this  trait  and  no 
person  ought  to  go  to  the  foreign  field  without  it.  There  is  so  much 
there  to  try  this  Christian  grace  that  a  large  stock  of  it  is  extremely 
necessary.  Unfortunate  is  he  who  is  sensitive,  easily  vexed  or  soon 
made  angry.     A  hopeful,  cheerful,  charitable  disposition,  too,  is  prob- 


THE   NEC  LA   AND   HIS    VICTIM. 
{FrotK  a  Punjabi  drawing.) 


ably  the  most  needful  of  all  virtues  in  pioneer  Christian  work.  There 
is  enough  tendency  in  the  very  best  foreign  laborer  to  find  fault,  and 
either  grow  callous  and  indifferent,  or  down-spirited,  in  the  presence 
of  acknowledged  evils.  That  is  a  besetting  sin  of  the  missionary. 
What  he  needs  is  to  guard  against  it,  to  look  on  the  bright  side  of 
things,  to  see  the  good  qualities  of  native  Christians,  to  have  faith  in 
the  growing  excellence  of  their  rising  church,  to  see  clearly  its  ultimate 
triumph.  Happy  is  he  who  has  much  of  this  insight  and  can  labor 
under  its  stimulus.  The  cynic,  the  sarcastic  or  sneering  critic,  the 
croaker  and  the  sad  hearted  laborer,  might  better  stay  at  home,  A 
loving,  humble,  condescending  spirit  may  also  be  mentioned  as  one 
of  the  indispensable  requisites  for  successful  Christian  work  in  heathen 


380      '  LIFE   AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 

lands,  a  spirit  which  is  proof  against  the  pride,  the  superciliousness, 
the  overbearing  and  dictatorial  tone  and  the  love  of  power  which  are 
so  likely  to  spring  up  under  missionary  conditions.  Faith  in  Christ  as 
one's  own  personal  Saviour,  in  the  Bible  as  a  divinely  inspired  book, 
and  in  all  the  doctrines  which  are  termed  evangelical,  has  not  been 
mentioned,  because  it  is  acknowledged  to  be  a  qualification  absolutely 
necessary  for  successful  religious  work  even  at  home.  The  uncon- 
verted man,  the  skeptic,  the  rationalist  and  the  man  of  half-way  con- 
victions are  not  wanted  anywhere  as  leaders  of  the  host  of  God. 

But  mission  work  has  a  reflex  influence  also  upon  the  church  in 
Christian  lands.  Missionaries  after  all  are  only  the  agents  of  the  peo- 
ple of  God  who  stay  at  home  ;  and,  while  the  rebounding  effect  of 
what  they  do  is  felt  first  and  most  powerfully  by  themselves,  it  is  felt 
also  by  those  whom  they  represent.  Through  the  arms  stretched  out 
towards  perishing  heathen  returning  blood  and  a  nervous  thrill  are 
sent  back  to  the  great  body  of  Christ  itself. 

The  most  significant  fact  in  the  history  of  the  Protestant  Church  of 
the  nineteenth  century  has  undoubtedly  been  her  effort  to  evangelize 
the  world.  Of  conflicts  with  infidelity,  of  investigation  into  the  foun- 
dations of  faith,  of  inquiries  into  the  nature  of  inspiration,  of  Biblical, 
archaeological,  historical,  and  linguistic  researches,  of  endeavors  to 
systematize,  recast  and  illustrate  theology,  of  efforts  to  reconcile  the 
facts  of  revelation  and  the  facts  of  science,  she  has  had,  indeed,  her 
share  during  the  hundred  years  which  are  now  drawing  to  a  close ;  and 
in  some  of  these  departments  her  achievements  have  surpassed  those 
of  any  preceding  century.  But  her  most  important  work  and  that 
which  has  distinguished  her  most  from  the  church  of  any  preceding 
period  has  undoubtedly  been  that  world-wide  movement  which  she 
has  been  carrying  on  for  the  conversion  of  lost  men.  But  this  move- 
ment has  been  a  growing  one.  It  started  with  small  beginnings  and 
advanced  step  by  step  until  it  reached  its  present  proportions.  And 
the  cause  of  this  gradual  growth  has  been  largely  the  success  of  the 
work  itself.  Supposing  that  a  magnet  should  magnetize  a  piece  of  iron 
in  its  neighborhood  and  through  the  magnetism  thus  induced  its  own 
power  should  be  strengthened,  and  that  the  addition  thereby  secured 
would  produce  still  greater  magnetic  activity  in  the  iron  near  it,  which 
again  would  have  a  reacting  effect  upon  the  original,  and  that  thus  the 
induction  would  go  on  ad  infinitum,  we  should  have  a  good  illustration 
of  the   manner  in  which    Foreign    Missions  have  affected  the  home 


EFFECT  OF  FOREIGN    WORK  ON  HOME    WORK  381 

church  and  vice  versa.  While  the  first  missionary  movement  reaching 
out  to  foreign  lands  necessarily  started  in  the  church  itself,  or  in  some 
of  her  members,  a  reacting  influence  from  abroad  was  soon  returned 
upon  the  originators,  which  again  brought  out  an  increase  of  effort  for 
the  conversion  of  the  heathen,  and  thus  ever  since,  through  the  mutual 
effects  of  action  and  reaction.  Missions  have  been  advanced  and  the 
Church  herself  surcharged  with  missionary  zeal.  In  other  words  the 
growing  energy  of  the  people  of  God  in  carrying  on  evangelistic  work 
in  non-Christian  lands  is  largely  due  to  the  reflex  influence  of  the  work 
itself.     The  fuel  which  it  created  has  fed  its  own  flame. 

And,  through  the  spirit  thus  fostered.  Home  Missions  have  also  ex- 
perienced a  wonderful  impulse.  Those  who  yearn  for  the  salvation  of 
distant  heathen  are  the  most  likely  to  yearn  for  the  salvation  of  god- 
less neighbors,  just  as  active  home  workers  also  are  generally  the  most 
forward  to  aid  evangelism  in  a  foreign  field.  It  is  the  same  sentiment 
which  fills  the  heart  of  both  classes,  the  only  difference  being  diversity 
in  the  object  upon  which  it  chiefly  terminates.  And  scarcely  less  re- 
markable than  the  modern  movement  to  spread  Christianity  among 
Buddhists,  Hindus,  and  Muhammadans  has  been  the  contemporaneous 
struggle  made  by  Protestant  churches  to  win  over  to  Christ  every  inch 
of  the  territory,  and  every  individual  of  the  population,  of  so-called 
Christian  lands.  The  two  movements  have  been  acting  and  reacting 
on  each  other  in  a  glorious  rivalry  for  the  conquest  of  the  world. 

"As  the  rivers,  farthest  flowing, 

In  the  highest  hills  have  birth 
As  the  banyan,  broadest  growing, 

Oftenest  bows  its  head  to  earth, 
So  the  noblest  minds  press  onward. 

Channels  far  of  good  to  trace ; 
So  the  largest  hearts  bend  downward. 

Circling  all  the  human  race." 

And  powerful,  too,  has  been  the  combined  effect  of  these  evangel- 
istic efforts  upon  the  character  of  Christianity  itself.  Believers  have 
felt  a  quickening  in  every  part  of  their  spiritual  being.  All  the  graces 
of  a  God-given  life  have  been  developing,  blossoming  and  bringing 
forth  fruit.  Liberality  has  been  increasing;  benevolence  has  been 
stretching  forth  her  hands;  purity  has  been  cleansing  our  streets;  self- 
restraint,   compassion   and    holy   indignation    have    been    starving  or 


382 


LIFE   AND    WORK  IN  INDIA 


Strangling  intemperance;  gentleness  has  been  mitigating  strife;  justice 
has  been  abolishing  slavery ;  community  of  work  has  been  uniting 
Christians  in  holy  fellowship;  "the  marshalled  hosts  of  God's  elect," 
though  in  different  corps,  have  been  fighting  side  by  side  in  the  army 
of  Prince  Immanuel.  In  fine,  faith  has  been  -'working  by  love;" 
and  believers  have  been  adding  to  their  "  faith  virtue,  and  to  their 
virtue  knowledge,  and  to  their  knowledge  temperance,  and  to  temper- 
ance patience,  and  to  patience  godliness,  and  to  godliness  brotherly- 
kindness,  and  to  brotherly-kindness  charity;"  while  an  immense 
stride  has  been  making  towards  that  consummation  of  which  the  apos- 
tle speaks  when  it  is  said  that  all  the  Lord's  people  will  "come  in  the 
unity  of  the  faith,  and  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Son  of  God,  unto  a 
perfect  man,  unto  the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fullness  of  Christ ;  " 
when,  "speaking  the  truth  in  love,"  they  will  "grow  up  into  Him  in 
all  things,  which  is  the  head,  even  Christ,  from  whom  the  whole  body 
fitly  joined  together  and  compacted  by  that  which  every  joint  suppli- 
eth,  according  to  the  effectual  working  in  the  measure  of  every  part, 
maketh  increase  of  the  body  unto  the  edifying  of  itself  in  love." 


APPENDIX 


(383) 


384 


APPENDIX 
INDIA. — Summary  of  Societies  and  Provinces: 


I.  Societies. 


Foreign  Native 

Ordained  Agents.  Ordained  Agts. 


Baptist 

Congregational. 

Episcopal 

Presbyterian  ... 

Lutheran 

Methodist 

Various  Miss.... 


00     00    X     00 


1793!  49I  58   49   8o!i29'       6   iQi35'2i5[ 
1805!  71I  63   63    7o|  76   2|i8   46{  67^  84j 


S  W 


706 100  146 147  144203  I 

,1828   53I  73!  88iosii49|  5 
1834I  42;  74   87^107125 


Totals. 


1817,  13, 


•'339478 


43    7i|iio 

II     9   65' 


488I586857219722? 


170249 

39!  ^\ 
23!  48| 
26,116 

I   21 


Native 
Lay  Preachers. 


23   91  132 

81581  398 

26163!  504 

17J  38,  93 

10   36  112 

30     61  24 

4      I  3 


:46i'797.72 


118493  1266 


19 
2485 


Churches 
or  Congregations. 


CO      00       00 


425  48 
5821  42 
870134 
520 

365 
561 


3491267 


72  139 

I34|  S'l 

617 1149 

48  112  252 

68'  278  343 

27  63    147 

5I  26I    26 


2i8[  449'  1 
690'  625  2 
19742274  S 
287  4 
206  5 
6136 
409,7 


97112273136504863 


IL  Provinces. 


Foreign  Native 

Ordained  Agents.  Ordained  Agts. 


Bengal 1799   9 

N.W.  Provi's\|i8i3 
andOudh....j  ;i858 

Punjab I|i8i8 

Central  India...:  1842 
Bombay 1813 


1061106 


73  74 

40  38 

II  17 

38I  481  57 


77    76 

52  91 
41  92 
74150I  4 


Madras 1706147201  19621726212 


Total  in  India '339479^ 


'8572197 


>25!46i 


\ 
9411 

50  II 

23   7 


Native 
Lay  Preachers. 


9 

6   15 
23306 


185  398 

77  185 

35  66 

6  41 

671  "3 


Churches 

or  Congregations. 


00      00       00 


538I  781'  70138 

209   495    17 

4 


383J  490   854  1 
96'  132!  506  2 


90  293  4  22  47:  65]  104  3 

83  182   2   7,  37|  70  1344 

124}  278]  13'  44|  64  135I  165I5 

Ii82|i444  1462  161  712  1651  2758'3ioO|  6 


363 


79772  Ii8l493'ig66i985l2488  3491  267971  2278  3650  4863I 


University  Examinations  in  Mission  Schools,  1872  to  1890. 


Church 
Families. 

1872  TO  1881. 

1882  TO  1890. 

Totals  1872  to  1890. 

Mat. 

F.  A. 

B.A. 

M.  A. 

Mat. 

F.A. 

B.A. 

M.  A. 

Mat. 

F.A. 

B.A.  M.  A. 

14 
456 
426 
1328 

23 
176 

45 

92 

34 
602 

2 
7 

332 

1 
41 

13 
777 
914 
1417 

1 
122 

314 
1384 

26 

114 

1242 

33 

27 
1233 
1340 
2745 

23 
382 

45 

1 
214 

348 
1986 

21 

Congregational 

28 
121 
1 574 

I 

Presbyterian...  

74 

Total 

2468 

728 

341 

42 

1     3327I     1842 

1382 

33 

579.=-. 

2570 

1723 

75 

Provinces. 

1872  to  1881. 

1882  TO  1890. 

Totals  1872  to  1890. 

Mat. 

F.A. 

B.A. 

M.  A. 

Mat.    F.A. 

B.A. 

M.  A. 

Mat. 

F.A. 

B.A. 

M.  A. 

768 

214 

70 

126 

379 
45 

166 

3° 
14; 

37 

I 
4 

638       840 
224         12 
190       103 
154         51 
44          ? 

626 

34 
27 
9 

33 

1406 
438 
260 
280 

149 
3262 

1219 
57 
103 
51 

54 
1086 

792 

34 
27 
30 
840 

70 

Northwest  Provinces 

Central  India ... 

I 

Madras... 

1185I      250 

2077        836        695 

4 

Totals  

2468I       728 

341 

42 

3327I     1842I     1382I         33 

5795 

2570 

1723 

75 

APPENDIX  386 

Missionaries,  Lay  Preachers,  Christian  Communities  and  Pupils  in  Day  Schools.* 


Native  Christians. 

Communicants. 

Total  Pupils  in  Schools, 
Males  and  Females. 

iz; 

0 

^ 

^ 

-H       0 

1 

00      CO 

^ 

00 

2 

00 

00 

1 

s 

^ 

"^ 

1 

1 

i| 

4'i44 

7738  164961  75747i33i22|  1367 

2081  5387;  30245  53801 

4016,  2704  8253  12303  20488 

2 

22929 

3471 1[  48040  68954I  77466  1720 

3845 

60121  9689!  13775 

i8i66  15844'  16457  28147,  42042 

a 

57952 

8C5731154S3180681  193363'  9232 

13544 

23976,  40990:  52377 

23636  31429'  51239  68198  79983 

4j 

821 

3259   7474  17274  34395   272 

1240 

2647:  5714'  11128 

12458  16956I  27235  ^0729  50523 

*>l 

4^04 

II 187  31596  62536  62838  1692 

3792 

12576]  21924  24207 

3787,  4784I  5939,  10969,  12713 

(> 

440 

8361  2846  10646  323S1   367 

394 

1568'  4295  15782 

1749  3723,  1C007  21790^  56492 

V 

102 

427J  2323   1534!  26096   II 

80  6501  468J  1 1652 

231   555  3002   55i6|  17475 

1 

91092 

138731  2242584173721559661114661 

24976  52816I113325 182722 

64043I  75995  I22i32]i87652l2797i6 

1 

Native  Christiaas. 

Communicants. 

T 

3tal  Pupils  in  Schools, 
Males  and  Females. 

•R 

^ 

^ 

^ 

^ 

^ 

u 

00 

s 

g 

CO 

S 

3 

^ 

s 

s 

00    00 

1 

iH 

1 

I4I771  20518 

46968 

83583 

I0890II  33711 

4620 

13502 

28689 

37918 

14568 

136551  27950'  33450  50417 

2 

1732 

3942 

7779 

12709 

30321   573 

1030 

3031 

5021 

14722 

4264 

8370  17265'  25250  47311 

3 

98 

1 1 36 

1870 

4762 

20729   25 

3S8 

707 

1948 

6034 

701 

3608  10547  16567  22523 

4 

271 

526 

2509 

4885 

"343   68 

138 

665 

2173 

4580 

596 

1146  6130  8168  15037 

5 

638 

2531 

4177 

11691 

22455  290I 

1 100 

159' 

4887 

9192 

6975 

6514  7184  11562  2B120 

ti 

741 76 1 10078 160955  299742  365912 10334 

17730 

33320 

70607 

II0276 

36939 

42702'  53056'  92655J1 16308 

_ 

91092  138731  224258l4i7372'55966i;i466il 

24976 

52816 

"3325 

182722 

64043 

75995'i22i  32  187652279716 

*This  Table  does  not  include  Statistics  for  Ceylon  or  Burma. 


Summary  of  Sabb.\th  School.s  in  India,  excluding  Ceylon  and  Burma. 


Totals  of  Societies. 


Baptist 

Congregational  

Episcopalian  

Presbyterian  

Lutheran 

Methodist 

Various  Missions  ... 
Women's  Societies.. 


Total  \  1867   6 


3708 


416 


13792;:  850 
1337311  461I 
3564]  i8j 
15573  "69 
5oo[j  18 
509      19 


279-^4 
2406S 
20867 

535' 

46351' 

7501 


3503135565 


Totals  of  Provinces. 


Bengal 

N    W.  Provinces  &  Oudh 

Punjab 

Central   India 

Bombay 


183  6938:1  613  19669 
350  16671]^  929  36498 
27!     3007,!   123' 


74[ 
1311 


2642 
37" 


Madras H021  28719 


Total !|i867  6ie 


7871 
2571  11613 
1401    55423 


35031135565 


Years  of  Service  of  the  Foreign  Ordained 
Missionaries  who  were  in  India  in  i886.t 


Nationality  of  India  Missionariks.J 


Over  50  years  2 

From  45  to  50  years 4 

From  40  to  45  years 5 

From  30  to  40  years 42 

From  20  to  30  years 114 

From  iot0  2j  years 231 

Under  10  years  393 

Total  number  of  Missionaries 791 

Average  years  of  labor,  about 13 


From  Great  Britain  and  Ireland 381 

From  the  Continent  of  Europe 173 

From  the  United  States 139 

From  C^'nada...  23 

From  West  Indies i 

From  other  countries 32 

Sons  and  Grandsons,  born  in  India 42 

Total  791 


\  From  Badley's  Directory. 

25 


{  From  Badley's  Directory. 


386 


APPENDIX 


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TOPICAL   INDHX 


Abbotabad,  a  hill  station,  50. 

AbduU.i  Athim,  Judge  ;  in  a  debate.  201. 

Abdurrahman,  the  Amir  of  Afghanistan  ;  an  ally 
of  the  English,  25  ;  a  despot,  27. 

Ablutions  of  Hindus  and  Moslems,  122. 

Abolition  of  High  Schools  suggested,  170;  of 
slavery  by  the  Russians,  24. 

Aborigines  of  India  and  low  castes,  117,  118  ; 
work  among,  encouraging  and  obligatory, 
355-35.7- 

Abyssinians  in  India,  107. 

Accidents  of  travel,  186,  187. 

Acesines,  the  Chenab  river.  103. 

Adamson,  Dr.,  visits  the  U.  P.  Mission,  64. 

Aden  described,  14,  15. 

Aerie,  a  house  on  Dharmkot,  50. 

Afghanistan :  railway  through  it,  19,  20 ;  its 
alliance  with  India,  25  ;  a  buffer  against  Rus- 
sia, 25  ;  should  be  under  better  rule,  27  ;  allu- 
sion, 86. 

Afghans:  fanatical,  27;  speak  Pashtu,  86. 

Africa:  seen,  13;  the  Mahdi  in,  22;  medical 
workers  there,  179. 

Agnosticism,  rare  in  India,  no,  117,  151.  See 
Infidelity. 

Agra  :  on  the  road  to  the  Punjab.  16 ;  meeting 
of  Presbyterians  there,  91  ;  its  medical  mis- 
sion, 97;  allusion,  324. 

Ahmedabad,  on  road  to  the  Punjab.  16. 

Ahmed  Shah,  the  emperor,  at  Bhera,  104. 

Aitchison,  Sir  Charles  :  his  administration  as 
Lieut. -Governor,  34  :  his  view  of  missions,  238. 

Ajmere :  on  road  to  Punjab,  16  ;  place  of  Daya- 
nanda's  death,  114. 

Akalg;irh,  under  the  Sikhs,  104. 

Akbar  :  crowned  at  Kalanaur,  104  ;  erected  At- 
tock  fort,  104. 

Alalatnbat  liar  of  Saddowal,  232. 

Alden's  "  Evidences  of  Christianity  "  translated, 
185. 

Aleppo,  on  one  road  to  India,  17. 

Alexander  :  his  invasion  of  the  Punjab,  103. 

Alexandretta,  as  a  railway  terminus,  17. 

Allahabad  :  judge's  decision  there,  231  ;  Presby- 
terian Alliance  meetings  there,  91  ;  its  S.  S. 
Lessons,  92;  its  Tract  Society  publications 
308. 

Alliance.  General,  of  Reformed  Churches,  91. 

Alliance,  Presbyterian,  of  India  :  its  history  and 
aims,  gi  ;   its  organ,  92. 

Amballa,  occupied  by  Am.  Pres.  Mission,  98. 

Ameera,  of  Gujranwala  :  sketch  of,  257,  258. 

Amen,  said  in  worship,  265. 

America  to  India:  ordinary  journey  described. 
12-16,  and  the  cost.  12  ;  via  China  and  Japan', 
17;  allusions,  84,  144,  181,  289,  364.  367. 

American  Bible  Society:  its  principles  of  work 
and  fields,  301. 

American  Board:  when  organized,  94;  when 
entered  India,  and  where  working,  97  ;  in  Cey- 
lon, 311 ;  in  Sandwich  Islands,  313  ;  her  medi- 
cal missionaries,  179;  her  educational  mission- 
ary wprk,  165, 


American  Line  of  Steamers,  9,  10. 

American  Presbyterian  Mission  :  when  entered 
India,  and  her  fields,  97  ;  her  Punjab  field  de- 
scribed, 98  ;  occupation  of  Rawal  Pindi,  102; 
transfer  ot  this  field  to  us,  102  ;  her  High 
School  at  Rawal  Pindi,  172;  college  in  Lahore, 
169,  173;  her  Punjab  field  compared  with 
others,  103  ;  vernacular  paper,  the  Nur  Af- 
shan,  92;  Synod,  308;  publications,  308; 
school  at  Woodstock,  53;  industrial  work, 
324  ;  liberality,  331  ;  policy  regarding  natives, 
346  ;  press,  306  ;  semi-centennial,  90  ;  moves 
for  Presbyterian  Union,  91  ;  salary  of  mission- 
aries, 62.     See  also  Ludliiana  Mission. 

American  Reformed  (or  Dutch  Reformed)  Mis- 
sion, 97. 

Amir  Bibi's  baptism  :  its  effects,  229. 

Amoor  river  :  left  bank  ceded  to  Russia,  23. 

Amos,  teacher  in  C.  T.  Institute,  2S2. 

Amritsar  :  founded  by  Ram  Das,  112  ;  roads  at, 
75.  76;  chief'center  of  C.  M.  S.,  98;  public 
debate  there,  199,  201 ;  its  Golden  Temple, 
112;  allusions,  196,  355. 

Amu,  or  Oxus,  river  ;  reached  by  Russia,  23, 
and  by  railway,  19  ;  bridge  across,  19. 

Anam,  peaceful,  21. 

Anchor  Line  of  Steamers,  11. 

Anderson,  Miss  E.  D.  :  her  Girls'  Schools  in 
Jhelum,  172. 

Anderson,  T.  D.,  of  Baltimore  :  his  help,  70. 

Andhi,  described,  43. 

Aiidrar,  a  peak  at  Dharmsala,  S'- 

Andrew-like  workers,  196. 

Anglo-Indians— that  is,  British  people  or  their 
white  descendants,  resident  in  India,  especially 
officials:  comparatively  few  in  India.  107: 
niimber  in  the  Punjab,  119,  120  :  in  civil  and 
military  service,  29,  30;  some  colonists,  no: 
their  mode  of  living,  204,  206  ;  houses,  55,  56, 
ills.,  144,  368;  house  furniture,  t;6;  table.  57, 
58;  their  hard  work,  67  :  how  affected  by  the 
climate,  362,  363,  368,  360;  characteristic 
traits.  67.  68  :  compared  with  natives,  123-125; 
their  faults,  124,  125,  218.  219  ;  social  rules,  64, 
367:  intercourse  with  missionaries,  63,  64: 
some  Ritualists  or  Plymouth  Brethren,  64; 
attitude  towards  natives,  343,  344  :  intercourse 
with  natives.  66-68;  their  opinion  of  native 
Christians,  249  ;  especially,  of  servants,  252  ; 
why  thev  dislike  Christian  servants,  253  :  their 
fear  of  Russia,  25  :  low  condition  of  the  poor 
class,  86,  iig;  their  dumb  friend,  68:  retired 
from  service,  28:  illustrations  of.  33,  74,  141, 
155,  161,  204.  See  also  under  .£'«f//.f A,  English- 
Jiten  and  Europeans . 

Anglo-Indian's  friend,  ills..  68. 

Anglo-Vedic  College  in  Lahore,  114,  115. 

Animals:  aversion  of  Jains  to  killing,  113  :  wor- 
shiped bv  Hindus,  112:  deaths  from,  44,45; 
illustrations,  passim. 

Anklet,  ills..  124,  174. 

Anna,  one-sixteenth  of  a  rupee,  defined.  77  ;  allu- 
sion, 125, 


(387) 


388 


TOPICAL   INDEX 


Annoyances:  of  housekeeping,   58-60;  of  travel, 

81,  82;  of  itinerating  work,  191,  192. 
Annual  Meeting  of  the  Mission:  when  and  where 

held,  136,  137;  described,  133,  134. 
Anvil:  ills.,  325. 
Apologetics:   taught   in    theological   seminaries, 

290. 
Apologies:  their  use  in  missionary  work,  198-201; 

must  not  compromise,  356,  357;  published  in 

Indian  vernaculars,  308. 
Apoplexy,  heat:  in  the  Punjab,  46. 
Apostasy  :    of  native  Christians,  rare,  252,    but 

sometimes  occurs,  251,  255;  to  and  from  Islam, 

352,  353- 

Apostles  of  India:  to  be  natives,  87,  358. 

Apostles'  Creed,  referred  to,  220. 

Approaches  to  India,  Chapter  I. 

Arabia:  seen,  15;  railway  across.  17;  allusion,  22. 

Arabian  Sea,  described,  15. 

Arabic  character,  in  India,  268,  270. 

Arabic  tongue:  spoken  in  Egypt,  87;  studied  by 
India  missionaries,  86;  difficult,  88. 

Architecture:  of  Moslems  in  India,  116; /7/j.,  329; 
of  Hindus,  ills.,  111,  159;  of  Kashmir,  ills.,-^; 
of  nice  native  houses,  176,  177. 

Arjan,  a  Sikh^«ra,  112. 

Arms.     See  under  Fire  Arms. 

Army  of  India:  its  officers,  constitution  and  size, 
29-51;  its  Gurkhas,  50,  107;  Sikhs,  good  sol- 
diers, 113;  its  drills  and  sham  battles,  25:  char- 
acter of  British  soldiers,  124;  native  Christian 
regiments,  325-327;  armies  of  native  princes, 
30,  31;  volunteers,  30;  its  cantonments,  31; 
commanders-in-chief,  30;  pictures  of  soldiers 
and  officers,  141,  155,  161. 

Arq  defined,  122. 

Arrian  mentions  the  Jhelum,  103. 

Art  in  India,  108,  176.  See  3.\i,o  Architecture 
and  illustrations  generally. 

Arya  Patrika,  a  Lahore  paper,  ttg. 

Arya  Samaj:  described,  114,  iis;  ahalf-way  sta- 
tion, 167;  trickery  of  its  adherents,  226,  227; 
their  annoyance  in  bazir  preaching,  157,158; 
one  (a  lawyer)  converted,  ig6,  197. 

Aryan  race  in  India.  107;  their  tongues  and 
other  tongues,  85.  86;  their  pantheon,  43:  their 
invasion  of  the  country.  27.  See  also  Hindu, 
Hinduism,  and  Hindus. 

Aryans.     See  Arya  Snmaj  2lT\A  Aryan  Race. 

Asarur:  once  a  capital,  103,  104:  ruins  there,  104. 

Asceticism:  of  heathen  origin,  210;  opposed  by 
Arj'ans,  114;  of  no  advantage  in  missionary 
work.  203-217.     See  under  Fakiristn. 

Ashe,  Rev.  R.  P.,  quoted  on  Church  Missions, 
312. 

Ashurada,  seized,  23. 

Asia  Minor  :  route  through,  to  India,  18. 

Askabad,  on  Transcaspian  Railway,  19. 

Asoka's  reign,  104. 

Asral,  a  peak  near  Dharmsala,  57. 

Assam  and  Manipur,  22. 

Assistant  Commissioner,  referred  to,  30,  204. 

Associate  Presbyterian  Mission,  its  origin,  99. 

Asuri  river,  a  boundary,  23. 

Atlantic  Ocean:  journey  across,  12. 

Attitudes:  of  Moslems  in  prayer,  ills.,  117:  of 
Christians  in  prayer  and  praise,  265. 

Attock:  road  to,  75;  fort  erected,  104;  ruins  at, 
105;  Indus  at,  105. 

Audiences:  how  to  secure  them.  149.  150. 

Augustine's  lamentation  regarding  the  church  of 
his  own  time.  203. 

Austerity.     See  Asceticism  and  Fakirism . 

Authority  of  foreigners  and  natives  in  mission 
work  discussed.  342-349. 

Autpcracy  of  mission  superintendents;    a  hin- 


Autocracy — Continued. 

drance  to  good  spiritual  work  in  employees, 
341;  tends  to  keep  up  division,  66,  67,  344;  its 
modification,  347;  its  reflex  influence  on  the 
superintendents  themselves,  372,  373;  its  pro- 
priety, 272,  273. 

Autonomy  of  native  church.  See  Church  in 
India. 

Ayah,  a  native  nurse,  150;  a  subject  of  instruc- 
tion, 150. 

Baba  Nanak  :  what  he  taught,  112  ;  his  shrine 
at  Sialkot  and  the  mela  there,  104,  160. 

Bab  el-Mandeb,  passed,  15. 

Baber  fined  Bhera,  104. 

Babies,  how  carried,  187;  ills.,  124. 

Babu  :  a  title,  like  Mr.  or  gentleman,  152. 

B.  A.  :  number  who  passed  this  standard,  294,384. 

Backsliders  reclaimed,  254.  255. 

Back-street  preaching.  See  Mahalla  Preach- 
ing. _ 

Badley's  "  Indian  Missionary  Directory  :  "  quot- 
ed, 364,  385. 

Badoki  congregation  :  its  contributions  of  prod- 
uce, 253  ;  its  recovery  from   backsliding,  254. 

Badomalli  school,  251. 

Bag,  a  peak  near  Dharmsala,  51. 

Baghdad,  on  Euphrates  route,  17,  18. 

Bahawalpur,  a  Muhammadan  state,  98. 

Baisakhi  festival,  160. 

Baku,  railway  terminus  on  Caspian  Sea,  18,  19,20. 

Bala  Shah,  or  Balisha,  or  Lai  Beg,  or  Balmik, 
the  high  priest  of  the  Chuhras,  118;  tradition 
about  him,  246,  247. 

Balain,  a  peak  near  Dharmsala,  51. 

Balmik.    See  Bala  Shah. 

Baltimore,  alluded  to,  9. 

Baluchistan,  brought  under  British  influence,  21. 

Banda.  a  Sikh  rebel,  104. 

Banks  of  India,  84  ;  post-office  banks,  84. 

Banya  :  avaricious,  37,  38,  84,  127  :  his  shop  de- 
scribed, 152,  157;  many  Jains  of  Banya  caste, 

"3- 

Banyan  Tree  :  its  shade,  152  ;  ills.,  153,  362  ;  a 
symbol  of  the  church's  expansion,  361,  381. 

Baptism  :  its  relation  to  mission  work,  230  ;  prep- 
aration for,  262  :  qualifications  for,  219-223, 
762  ;  examination  for,  272  :  relation  to  the 
Lord's  Supper,  333,  334 :  singular  motives  for 
wanting  it,  202.  203;  obstructions  to,  230-234; 
baptism  at  melas,  161  ;  baptism  in  schools 
and  the  effect,  166  ;  baptism  of  minors  and  the 
law  regarding  it,  230,  231  :  baptism  of  polyg- 
amists,  222,  223 ;  baptism  of  families,  225, 
328,  331  ;  limitation  of  the  number  of  baptisms, 
221, 

Baptist  missions  in  India :  general  statistics, 
384,  385.  .     .  .      ,^ 

Baptist  C  American)  mission,  97;  Baptist  (Cana- 
dian) mission,  97. 

Baptist  (English)  missions  in  India,  94,  97. 

Baptist  (General)  missionary  society,  95,  97. 

Baptist  (Strict)  mission,  97. 

"  Baptized  AdulLs  ;  "  number  and  meaning  of  the 
term,  333.  3:54. 

Barnabas  cited  as  an  example  of  fakirism,  206. 

Baroda,  alluded  to.  16. 

Barber,  Hindu  :  ills.,  209. 

Barr,  J.  S.,  D.D.  :  superintendent  C.  T.  Insti- 
tute, 282 ;  theological  professor,  288.  289 ; 
translator  of  "  Hodge's  "Theology,"  307. 

Barr,  W.  W. ,  D.D.  :  visits  the  mission,  64,  237. 

B.T)sat,  or  rainy  season,  40,41. 

Earth's  "  Scripture  History"  taught,  306. 

Basel  Missionary  Society,  97. 

Bassorah,  on  Euphrates  route,  17,  i8. 


TOPICAL   INDEX 


389 


Bathing,  common  in  India,  58,  122. 

Bathing  tank  :  ills.,  159. 

Batoum,  R.  U.  terminus  on  Black  Sea,  18. 

Bazar:  defined,  154,157;  ills.,  155,  37:> ;  allu- 
sion, 174.     See  Siidr  Bazar. 

Bazar  Chapels, or  reading  rooms,  151, 158,184,185. 

Bazar  preaching  :  described,  154-158;  like  pub- 
lic debate,  199,  2ci  ;  like  work  at  inelas,  159, 
160;  in  evangelistic  tours,  191,  225  ;  opposition 
at  and  obstructions  to,  157,  158,  227,  228  ;  co- 
operation in,  89,  90;  its  value  in  evangelism, 
158  ;   qualifications  for,  158. 

Beas  :  one  of  the  "  five  rivers,"  98  ;  the  Hypha- 
sis,  103  ;  seen  from  Dharmsala,  51. 

Bed-clothing  on  journeys,  81,  82. 

Bedin,  explained  and  illustrated,  151. 

Beggars  in  India,  123. 

Begums:  defined,  177;  alluded  to,  179.  See 
Fardah  or  Pardah-nisliin. 

Belgium,  compared  with  ihe  U.  P.  field,  103. 

Belgrade,  on  Constantinople  route,  18. 

Benares,  home  of  Jadjodh  Singh,  226. 

Beneficence   Committee  of  Sialkot  Presbytery, 

3'5- 

Bengal  :  increase  of  Christians  there,  351  ;  Sun- 
day Schools,  3S5  ;  general  statistics,  384,  385  ; 
allusions,  300,  301. 

Bengal,  Bay  of,  23. 

Bengal  civil  service,  29. 

Bengali  tongue,  85. 

Bentinck,  Lord:  his  opinion  of  Dr.  DuflTs  college, 
162,  163. 

Berlin,  on  one  route  to  Asia,  20. 

Bernard,  an  example  of  fakirism,  206. 

Bhabra  caste  and  the  Jains,  113. 

Bhiigsu,  a  sacred  fountain  at  Dharmsala,  52. 

Bhajans.  described,  304  ;  used  in  ordinary  wor- 
ship, 265:  at  bazar  preaching,  156  ;  in  zenanas, 
177.  '78  ;  •"  evangelistic  work  generally.  198; 
specimens  in  Roman  Punjabi,  with  music,  200, 

:^o5- 

Bhans^,  an  intoxicating  liquor,  122. 

Bkangi3.nA  Bhangiivala,  ills.,  155,  187  ;  allusion, 
187. 

Bhatties,  their  capital,  103. 

Bhedo-Chida  :  a  liaptism  there,  235. 

Bhera:  on  Sind  Sagar  R.  R.,  76;  described, 
100;  fined  and  sacked,  104:  its  manulactures, 
106;  now  occupied  by  U.  P.  Mission,  100; 
persecution  there,  227,  228 ;  its  medical  work, 
182;  its  school,  297:  journey  to,  152;  dis- 
pensary washed  away  by  floods,  42. 

Bhola,  assistant  tnistri,  C.  T.  I.,  280. 

Bhusa,  finely  broken  straw,  187. 

Bible:  taught  in  mission  schools,  172,  184:  in 
the  theological  seminary,  290:  read  through  in 
the  originals,  292  :  an  attraction  in  bazar  work, 
j  156,  157  ;  rejected  by  Aryans,  114  ;  its  plan  of 
salvation,  209  ;  how  much  studied  by  mission- 
aries, 370  :  vernacular  commentaries  few,  306  ; 
translations,  92,  93,  291,  300-303.  See  also 
under  Bible  Translation  and  Bible  Societies. 

Bible  Societies:  their  work  of  translating  and 
distributing  the  Bible.  300.  301.  See  under 
Bible  Translation,  British  and  Foreign  B. 
S  .  American  B.  S.,  and  Punjab  B.  S. 

Bible  Translation  :  work  in  India,  291,  300-503  ; 
into  Urdu.  300-302  ;  into  Gurmukhi,  302  ;  into 
Persian  Punjabi,  302.  303  ;  SerHmpur  transla- 
tion, 300;  Martyn's,  300;  Shurman  and  Haw- 
kins',  300:  Mirzapur,  300;  defects  of  present 
Urdu  version,  301,  302;  new  version  needed, 
but  by  a  native,  291,  302  :  the  present  move- 
ment, 291  ;  translation  work  of  the  U.  P.  Mis- 
sion, 302.  303  :  mostly  done  by  others,  92,  93. 
See  Bible  Societies. 


Bicycle  draws  a  crowd,  156. 

Bihishti,  or  water-carrier :  serves  missionaries, 
190;  at  railway  stations,  78 ;  ills.,  124;  on 
hills,  ills.,  277. 

Bindi,  or  Bhindi :  that  is,  okra,  57. 

Biographical  sketches  of  some  native  Christians, 
257-260. 

Birds:  indwellings,  58  ;  ills.,  93,  100, 173,  178,  etc. 

Bir  Singh's  beating,  235. 

Biscay,  Bay  of:  its  roughness,  10;    allusion,  13. 

Hitter  Lakes  referred  to,  14. 

Black  Mountain  wars,  22  . 

Black  Sea  :  on  one  road  to  the  East,  18,  20;  rail- 
ways beyond,  24  ;  outlet  of,  24. 

Blue  Herons,  ills.,  189. 

Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the  United  Pres- 
byterian Church  of  North  America  :  its  loca- 
tion, 9,  10;  its  Cor.  Secretary,  132  ;  its  Treas- 
urer, 143  ;  how  it  sends  out  missionaries,  9,  10; 
its  powers  and  policy,  131-133  ;  its  relation  to 
ecclesiastical  courts  in  the  field,  131,  and 
to  "  The  Mission."  131,  132  ;  receives  contri- 
butions from  India,  315;  suggests  a  plan  of 
settling  difficulties,  347. 

Boards  of  Directors  for  institutions  and  work, 
278,  286,  288. 

Boards  of  Foreign  Missions:  their  business  agents 
abroad,  12. 

Boards,  or  Committees,  of  Scotch  and  British 
churches  :  their  policy,  132. 

Boats  :  as  a  means  of  itineration,  193  ;  ills.,  36, 

55.  357- 

Bokhara  :  railway  to,  10  ;  annexed,  23. 

Bolan  Pass,  a  railway  route,  19. 

Bombay  City  :  distance  from  London,  9  ;  pass- 
age to.  lo  ;  port  for  missionaries,  ix  :  described, 
15,  16;  from  Persian  Gulf  to,  17;  University 
there,  163,  164;  a  Parsee  center,  115;  first 
railway  at,  76  ;  Hindu  devotion  at,  353  ;  Bow- 
en's  residence  there,  215  :  Alliance  meeting  at, 
91  ;  Decennial  Missionary  Conference  there, 
169;  Kalbadevi  Road,  jV/j.,  375;  Bombay  to 
Sialkot  by  rail,  15,  16. 

Bombay,  Baroda  &  Central  Railroad.  15,  16. 

Botnbay  Guardian,  a  help  to  missions,  92. 

Bombay  Presidency  :  powers  of  its  governor,  28  ; 
his  salary,  30;  its  civil  service,  30;  increase 
of  Christians  there,  351  ;  statistics  of  its  mis- 
sions, 384,  385. 

Bombay  University,  163,  164. 

Boniface,  cited  as  a  fakir,  206. 

Book  shops  :  described,  157,  184  ;  used  as  bazar 
chapels  and  meeting  houses,  157,  158,  184. 

Book  Societies.  See  Religious  Book  Societies 
and  Bible  Societies. 

Boston,  a  point  of  departure,  9. 

Boundaries  for  missions  :  policy  of  establishing, 
95,  96,  loi  ;   how  regulated,  133,  137. 

Boundary  between  Afghanistan  and  Russian  ter- 
ritory, 25. 

Bowel  complaints  in  the  Punjab,  46. 

Bowen,  of  Bombay  :  an  example  of  fakirism, 
206  ;   his  methods  and  success,  215. 

Bracelet,  ills.,  124,  174. 

Brahm,  the  Supreme,  in. 

Brahma  :  one  of  the  Tri-murti,  in  ;  worship  of, 
in. 

Brahma  Samaj  :  compared  with  the  Arya  Sa- 
maj.  114  ;   a  half-way  station,  167. 

Brahmans  :  described,  in;  reverenced.  113; 
fed,  116;  loaded  with  gifts,  321,  353;  favored 
by  government,  326;  leaders  of  Hindu  life, 
162  ;  getting  education,  121,  122  :  at  hospitals, 
181  ;  no  remarkable  Christian  work  among, 
245  ;  complaint  of  one,  355  ;  allusion,  246.  See 
Castes,  High. 


390 


TOPICAL    INDEX 


Brahminy  bulls,  described,  211. 

Bribery  in  India,  127. 

Bridge:  over  the  Amu  river,  19;  in  Kashmir, 
53,  and  ills.,  36,  357  ;  over  the  Chaklci,  54. 

"  Brief  Evidences  of  Christianity  "  translated, 
185. 

Brindisi,  a  celebrated  port  for  steamers,  11. 

British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  :  its  field,  301  ; 
assumes  the  revision  of  the  Urdu  Scriptures, 
291,  300,  301.  See  also  Bible  Societies  and 
Bible  Translation. 

British  Army  in  India.     See  Army  of  India. 

British  Canadian  Line  of  Steamers,  17. 

British  Colony  in  India,  119  ;  condition  of  their 
poor,  86,  119  ;  how  they  speak  English,  86. 

British  India.     See  India  and  British  Rule. 

British  India  Line  of  Steamers,  11. 

British  Rule  in  India  :  specially  described,  Chap. 
Ill — See  Contents  :  its  territory,  28,  95  ;  its 
native  states,  28  ;  its  complicated  system,  28- 
31  ;  its  departments  and  divisions,  28  ;  connec- 
tion with  the  Home  Government,  28;  with  na- 
tive princes,  28;  its  rulers,  28-30 ;  Viceregal 
Council,  29;  Staff  of  Administration,  29  ;  Civil 
Service,  29  ;  District  and  Municipal  Commit- 
tees, 29;  Viceroys,  31-33;  Governors,  28; 
Lieut.-Governors  of  Punjab,  33,  34  ;  its  aim, 
34,  35;  its  material  improvements,  19,  35,  36; 
maintained  by  force.  34  :  its  powerful  protec- 
tion, 35,  127;  its  stability,  22  ;  peaceful,  35  ; 
just,  35  ;  its  unintentional  injustice,  37,  38  ;  its 
contests  with  border  tribes,  21,  22  ;  its  occupa- 
tion of  the  Punjab,  98  ;  guarantees  post-of- 
fice b-jnking,  84  ;  its  educational  system,  36, 
163-165  :  its  religious  establishment,  36  ;  its  aid 
to  missions,  34-37  ;  its  grants  in  aid  to  schools 
and  hospitals,  36,  72,  73,  270 ;  employs  Chris- 
tians, 324,  325  ,■  schools  utilized  to  train  Chris- 
tians, 294  ;  its  testimony  about  missions,  36, 
37  ;  its  reforms,  35  ;  its  hurtfulness  to  missions, 
37-39,  218,  219  :  its  public  evils,  33,  38,  39,  218, 
219;  schools  tend  to  infidelity,  so  said,  169; 
its  general  excellence,  39  ;  compared  with  Rus- 
sian government,  27;  with  American,  367,  368  ; 
how   helped  by  missions,  36,  37,  237,  238,  325. 

British  territory  in  India.  See  British  Rule  and 
India. 

Brokers'  extortion.  See  Banya  and  Money- 
lender. 

Brotherhoods  in  India.  See  Protestant  Brother- 
hoods. 

Brothers,  The,  in  the  Red  Sea,  14. 

Brown  ;  his  "  Short  Catechism  "  translated,  306  ; 
his  "  Explication"  in  Urdu,  307. 

Bruce,  Robert  :  his  trouble  in  building,  225,  226. 

Bucephala  and  Bucephalus,  103. 

Buddha  :  what  he  revolted  against,  112. 

Buddhism  :  its  founder,  112  ;  its  failure  in  India, 
356  ;  its  influence  on  Hinduism.  123  :  its  relation 
to  Jainism,  113;  modern  Indian  Buddhism  de- 
scribed, 114;  its  seven  precious  things,  to5  ; 
its  remains  in  the  Punjab,  410.    See  Buddhists. 

Buddhists:  their  number  in  India,  no;  their 
growth,  352;  their  fakirs,  204:  their  ancient 
medical  work,  47;  allusion,  381:  See  Buddhism. 

Buffaloes  :  bathing,  ills.,  184  ;  allusion,  263. 

Building:  how  done  in  India,  55,  56,  143,  144; 
trouble  connected  therewith,  143,  144,  225,226. 
See  Bungalow. 

Buildings  of  natives.     See  Housrs. 

Bull  :  image  of,  attached  to  temples,  iii  ;  Brahm- 
iny, 112.     See  CawSpecifs. 

Bunder  Abbas,  on  Persian  Gulf,  18. 

Bungalow  :  ills.,  49,  56,  79,  144,  283,  368.  See 
also  Houses. 

Burglary  in  India,  127. 


,    Burial  of  the  dead  by  Chuhras,  118. 

Burka,  or  Burqa,  defined,  121. 

Burma;  Buddhist,  352;  its  Civil  Service,  29;  an- 
nexation of  Upper,  21  ;   allusion,  95. 

Burns,  Rev.  Islay,  on  the  atmosphere  of  hea- 
thenism, 371  ;  on  his  brother's  costume,  214. 

Burns,  Rev.  W.  C,  on  the  same  (above)  subject, 
37°.  37';  h's  costume,  214;  memoir  quoted 
from,  214. 

Bushir,  on  Persian  Gulf,  18. 

Caine,  Hon.  W.  S.,  favors  austerity  in  mission- 
aries, 205. 
Calcutta;  route  via,  10,  11,  16,  17;  riot  at,  22  ; 

Alliance  meeting  at,  91  ;  Oxford  Brotherhood 

at,  205  :  allusions  to,  20,  162,  215. 
Calcutta  University  ;   163,  164. 
Caldwell,  Rev.  A.  B.,  his  experience  with  snakes, 

45  ;  on  a  Christian  iiiela,  274. 
Caleb.  Rev.  J.  J.;    his   translation  of  Hodge's 

"  Outlines,"  307. 
Calhoun,  Miss  E.  :  her  schools,  172  ;  allusion  to, 

258. 
"  Call  "  to  a  church  required  for  ordination,  33. 
Call  to  missionary  work:  its  impetus,  374;  its 

signs,  378-380. 
"  Caller  "  in  Girls'  Schools  defined,  172. 
Cambridge  Mission:   at   Delhi,  97,  90;   how  its 

missionaries  live,  205;   commended  by  W.  S. 

Caine,  205. 
Camels  :    their  character,    186 ;    how  hired   and 

laden,  186  ;   travel  with,  186.  187  ;  at  night,  188, 

189;  how  fed,  190;  not  hardy,  191,  192;  ills., 

182,  186. 
Campbell,  Miss  M.  J.  ;  her  translation  of  "  Ilm- 
I        i-Ilahi,"  306. 

Camping:  of  missionaries,  ills.,  186;  of  Punjab- 
'         ies,  367 ;  see  Itinerating  Work. 
Canada  ;  missionaries  from,  in  India,  385. 
Canadian  Presbyterian  Mission,  97. 
Canals :   at  Dharmsala,  52 ;  Chenab,  325  ;   Suez, 

13  ;  ills.,  14,  and  map. 
Cantonments  of  the  Punjab,  31  ;  in  U.  P.   field, 

102,  105. 
Cape  Comorin,  245. 

Carey,  entering  India,  94  ;  his  mode  of  living,  206. 
Caring  for  her  young  ;   ills.,  261. 
Carleton,  Rev.  M.  M  ,  of  Kotgarh,  53. 
Carleton  Cottage,  Dharmsala,  50. 
Carpenter,  Hindu  :  ills.,  108. 
Cart,  ills.,  186,  247,  367. 
Carthage,  attitude  of  Romans  towards,  356. 
Caspian  Sea  :  on  northern  route,  18-20  ;  allusions, 

23.  24- 

Caste  :  its  nature  and  spread,  223,  224  ;  bears  no 
relation  to  morals,  248:  rigidly  enforced  by 
Hindus,  112,  126,  127,  224;  caste  among  Sikhs, 
112,  113;  among  Jains,  113:  among  Aryans, 
114  ;  among  Muhammadans,  116  ;  among  Chris- 
tians, 116;  among  the  depressed  classes,  117, 
n8;  fostered  by  the  compound  system,  275; 
its  evils,  224,  225;  its  tyranny,  326;  its  ob- 
struction to  faith,  229,  230;  its  absence  favor- 
able to  evangelistic  success.  224,  225,  246  ;  must 
be  respected  in  meeting  the  people,  150;  af- 
fected by  medical  work,  181,  354,  by  schools, 
267,  354,  and  other  matters,  354  ;  giving  way, 
236,  354,  360  ;  has  slight  hold  now  on  some,  114, 
238  ;  how  lost  caste  may  be  restored,  231. 

Castes  :  their  number  in  the  Sialkot  district,  116; 
how  they  may  be  formed,  113,  357. 

Castes,  high  :  converts  from,  few,  243,  244,  245, 
328  :  their  conversion  not  hindered  by  low-caste 
work,  244,  245  ;  work  among,  should  be  pushed, 

SSI- 
Castes,  low — outcastes  :  described,  117-120;  how 


TOPICAL   INDEX 


391 


Castes,  low — Continued. 

divided  as  to  religion,  117,  118;  their  number. 
355,  356  ;  reached  in  itinerating,  195  ;  open  door 
among  ihem,  243-246,  355-357;  favoring  provi- 
dences, 246-248  ;  iheir  conversion  and  liaptism 
objected  to,  219,  but  important,  357;  freer  from 
superstition  and  error  than  others,  246:  not 
specially  immoral,  248  ;  motives  leading  them  to 
embrace  Christianity,  201,  202  ;  obstructions  to 
their  baptism,  233,  234;  not  detrimental  to 
work  among  Hindus  and  Moslems,  244,  245. 
See  also  Chu/tras,  iiJfgs,  Chamars,  etc. 

Catechisms :  their  preparation  and  use  in  the 
vernacular  tongues,  306. 

Catechists  :  their  duties,  272. 

Catechumens,  examined,  272.     See  Baptistn. 

Caucasian  railways,  18,  19. 

Caucasians,  or  Indo-Europeans,  107. 

Caucasus  and  Trans-Caucasia,  23,  24. 

Caucasus  Mountains,  tunnel  through,  19. 

Celibacy,  obligation  of,  condemned,  210. 

Cemetery  at  Dharmsala,  52. 

Census:  mode  of  taking,  in  India,  116,  117;  of 
1891,  no. 

Centipede,  ills.,  61. 

Central  Asiatic  tribes  :  their  barbarous  state,  24. 

Central  India:  increase  of  missions  there,  351, 
384,385. 

Central  schools:  described,  270  ;  used  in  Christian 
training,  278. 

Ceremonies,  religious  :  of  little  account  in  evan- 
gelism, 198. 

Ceremony  in  zenana  visitation,  177  :  in  native 
society,  68  ;  among  Anglo-Indians,  64,  367. 

Ceylon:  its  self-supporting  churches.  311. 

Chadar :  described,  109,  no;  used  for  carrying 
grain,  253;  ills.,  177,  180,  228,  252,  288,  298, 
etc. 

Chakki  river:  when  bridged,  54  ;  described,  75, 

Cha7nars,  a  low  caste  :  described,  117,  118;  allu- 
sion, 245. 

Chamba  :  in  the  Scotch  Mission,  99  ;  a  point  for 
excursions,  52. 

Chandni  Chauk,  Delhi,  ills.,  155. 

Chants,  in  praise,  303. 

Chapati,  described,  66  ;   ills..  65,  288. 

Chaplains,  in  India  :  their  clas.ses  and  salaries, 
36,  62. 

Character,  as  a  power  in  evangelism,  196,  197. 

Characters,  in  printing  Urdu,  268,  269. 

Charjui,  railway  to,  and  bridge,  19. 

Charles,  David,  of  the  Institute,  282. 

Charms,  Hindu,  in. 

Charpai  :  a  native  bedstead,  56  :  used  as  a  seat, 
159,  227;  allusions,  263,  287  :   ills.,  65,  194,  359. 

Ckaukidar  :  described,  189  ;  at  an  encampment, 
189. 

Cheddu's  baptism,  234. 

Chemkend  taken,  23. 

Chenab  :  one  of  tlie  "  five  rivers,"  98  ;  its  course, 
99,  193;  curious  features  at  Chiniot,  105  ;  canal, 
325  ;  the  Acesines,  103. 

Chess,  used  for  illustration,  140. 

Chluippars,  village  ponds,  described,  263  ;  ills., 
184. 

Chhero's  conversion  and  death,  258-260. 

Chicks,  described,  192. 

Chief  Commissioners,  22,  29. 

Children,  native  :  how  carried,  ills.,  124;  of  con- 
verts, educated,  202. 

Children  of  missionaries  :  must  be  taken  home, 
48,  54.  55,  6q,  61,  212;  .separation  from,  a  great 
trial.  6o.  61  ;  generally  turn  out  well,  6t  ;  chil- 
dren's Homes,  61  ;  many  become  missionaries, 

3,85- 
Cnimma,  Rura's  home,  235. 


China  :  its  heathen  character,  571;  a  victim  of  the 
opium  trade,  39  ;  gave  no  trouble  to  India,  21  ; 
in.  the  Pamirs,  23  ;  opposed  by  Russia,  24  ;  con- 
cessions to  Russia,  23,  24  ;  its  medical  mission- 
aries, 179;  route  via,  17-20;  allusions,  23,  84. 

China  Inland  Mission;  its  self-supporting  mem- 
bers, 212  ;  their  mode  of  living,  206. 

Chinamen,  in  India,  107. 

Chinar  groves,  of  Kashmir,  53. 

Chiniot :  and  the  Sikhs,  104  ;  Chenab  at,  105. 

Choga  :  ills.,  341  ;  worn   by  the  well-lo-do,  no. 

Cholera  :  in  the  Punjab,  45,  46 ;  at  Dharmsala, 
Murree  and  Srinagar,  54  ;  why  so  fearful,  46. 

Christ :  a  fakir,  or  not  ?  206,210;  his  presence  a 
sustaining  power  in  missions,  374. 

Christian  household,  ills.,  252. 

Christian  Instructor,  quoted  from,  257-260. 

Christian  Settlements.     See  Settlements. 

Christian  Training  Institute  :  its  history  and 
character,  278-284  ;  ground  for  it  purchased, 
279  ;  improvements  added,  270,  280  ;  built  from 
the  Stewart  Fund,  70,  71  ;  architect,  280  ;  build- 
ers, 280  ;  exterior  views,  ills.,  9  ;  interior  court, 
ills., 'i-ji;  under  the  Mission,  137;  Board  of 
Directors,  137,  278;  Superintendents,  282;  Head 
Christian  teachers,  282  ;  monitor,  284  ;  heathen 
teachers,  286,296,  297;  terms  of  admission,  306; 
employment  of  pupils'  parents,  244;  course 
of  study,  281,  282  ;  raised  to  Entrance  standard, 
297;  Normal  class,  282,  284  ;  textbooks,  307; 
missionary  society,  281,  282;  Sabbath  School, 
282  :  women's  department,  282,  ills.,  298  ;  its 
internal  economy  ,  280,  281;  secular  work  in  it, 
142,  144,  145  :  its  usefulness,  284  ;  a  drawback, 
295  ;  statistics,  284  ;  allusions,  289,  325. 

Christianity  :  its  triumph  in  the  Roman  Empire, 
360  ;  in  India,  360,  361  ;  in  the  woi'd,  361  ;  re- 
jected by  Aryans,  114. 

Christians:  statistics  for  India  and  each  Province. 
352-355,  384,  385  ;  of  the  Punjab,  described  and 
enumerated,  119,  120  ;  statistics  of  different  ec- 
clesiastical families,  384,  385  ;  of  U  P.  Mission, 
340-342,  386:  opposed  by  Aryans,  114.  See 
also  under  Christians  Native,  Christianity, 
Church,  Converts  and  Missions  in  India. 

Christians,  European,  in  India  See  under  An- 
glo-Indians ,  Englishmen  and  Europeans. 

Christians,  Native:  the  number  and  the  rapidity 
of  their  growth  :  see  under  Christians,  above; 
their  original  caste  and  condition.  Chap  XXI  ; 
generally  poor,  275,  320,  322,  324,  327;  not  im- 
proving much  in  wealth,  327  ;  dependence  upon 
non-Christians  for  employment,  275  ;  in  govern- 
ment service, 284,  297,  324,  325,  326;  aids  to  their 
worldly  prosperity,  324,  325,  327;  obstructions 
to  their  worldly  prosperity,  325,  326  ;  their  lib- 
erality discussed,  315-317,  319-322;  their  style 
of  living,  65,  66,  205,  263  ;  their  appearance  and 
dress,  278,  288,  298,  342  ;  many  ignorant,  250 ; 
their  standing  as  regards  education,  121,  122, 
294-297:  their  educaiion  important,  267,297, 
324,  330,  358  ;  many  weak,  250:  their  remem- 
brance of  their  own  caste,  116;  some  hypo- 
critical, 250,  275  ;  some,  but  few,  apostatize, 
250,  251,  252,  255;  many  genuine,  251-260; 
proof  of  theirgenuineness,  221,  335 — also  Chap. 
XXII  ;  their  social  customs,  66  ;  their  social 
advancement,  277,  278  :  their  intercourse  with 
missionaries,  66,  67  ;  their  habits  in  church, 
264;  their  aid  to  evangelism,  195,  196,254;  their 
religious  and  moral  traits,  249-260  ;  their  lower 
and  higher  training:  see  Chapters  XXIII, 
XXIV  and  XXV,  in  Contents;  also  under 
Training ;  their  elevation  and  primary  duty, 
358,  359;  to  be  honored,  358;  a  group,  ills., 
298;  in  schools,  ills.,  278,  288,  298.     See  also 


392 


TOPICAL    INDEX 


Christians,  Native — Continued. 

under  Christians ,    Workers,   Church,     Con- 
verts and  Ministers. 

Chrysanthemum,(\\iotcd  on  missionary  ill  health, 

364- 

Chuharkanna,  at  Eminabad,  104. 

Chuhras  :  described,  117-119  ;  their  quarter  of  a 
town,  263  ;  their  employment,  117,  232,  ills., 
124;  some  agriculturists  and  sepies,-2^2.  ■z-^^, 
244  ;  their  mode  of  life,  263,  264  ;  their  intel- 
lectual weakness,  270,  275  ;  in  schools,  267  ; 
their  religious  beliefs,  118,  246  ,  their  tradition 
about  Gugga  and  Gugga ganu ,  118,  119  ;  their 
transition  state,  246;  movement  among,  towards 
Christianity,  242  ;  seen  at  hospitals,  181  ;  why 
easily  converted,  246;  their  tradition  about 
Balmik,  246,  247  ;  number  of  converts  from, 
244 :  instances  of  conversion,  239,  257-260 ; 
persecution  by,  233,  234  ;  why  kept  down  by 
Hindus  and  Moslems,  232.  See  also  under 
Castes,  L01V. 

Chuthci,  explained,  188. 

Church  buildings  :  U.  P.,  in  Rawal  Pindi,  ills., 
345   :   English,  in  Simla,  ills.,  283. 

Church,  Established  :  in  India,  or  not,  36. 

Church,  General  :  how  affected  by  missions,  380- 
382. 

Church  Histories,  in  Urdu,  307. 

Church  in  India:  comes  mostly  from  the  de- 
pressed classes,  245,  246;  its  poverty,  322,  324, 
33')  33^  i  ''s  exaltation  necessary,  359  ;  kept 
pure,  or  not,  by  fakirism,  208  ;  autonomy  hin- 
dered by  some  mission  methods,  273,  217;  liber- 
ality hindered  by  the  same  tiling,  319,  320.  See 
also  Church,  U.  P.,  in  India.. 

Church  in  mission  lands:  its  lack  of  maturity, 
310-313;  in  leading  strings,  311,  312;  church 
organization  and  establishment  necessary,  148, 
149;  examples  of  self-supporting  organizations, 

Church  Missionary  Society,  orC.  M.  S.  :  its  his- 
tory and  statistics,  311  ;  when  organized,  94; 
fields  generally,  312;  its  honorary  missionaries, 
212  :  its  partial  failure,  312,  313  ;  in  Egypt,  301  ; 
fields  and  forces  in  India,  97,  312  ;  in  the  Pim- 
jab,  98  I  work  at  Clarkabad,  274,  325  ;  its  Nar- 
owal  Mission,  joi  ;  powers  of  its  Punjab 
Church  Council,  346 ;  its  liberality,  331  ;  allu- 
sion, 274. 

Church  of  England  :  its  two  great  missionary 
societies,  311,312;  extent  of  its  mission  failure, 
312-314;  its  chaplains  in  India,  36;  building  in 
Simla,  ills.,  283  ;  allusions,  300,  301,  309. 

Church  of  Scotland — the  Established  ;  her  mis- 
sions in  India.     See  Scotch  Missions. 

Church,  U.  P.,  in  America:  longevity  of  her 
ministers,  364.     See  U.  P.  Church, 

Church,  U.  P.,  in  India  :  statistics,  386;  comes 
mostly  from  the  depressed  classes,  245,  246 ; 
its  poverty,  322,  324  ;  church  service  described, 
264-266;  building  in  Rawal  Pindi, ///j-.,  345  ; 
its  congregational  evangelism,  195  ;  its  organi- 
zation, Chapter  XXXVII  ;  its  lack  of  organ- 
ized congregations,  314,  316;  number  required, 
316;  present  number,  333  ;  why  so  few,  334  ; 
how  affected  by  panchayats,  271  ;  defects  of 
organization  discussed,  334-336;  each  congre- 
gation strengthened  pecuniarily  by  its  enlarge- 
ment, 327 ;  its  various  ecclesiastical  courts, 
336,  337:  the  powers,  qualifications  and  de- 
fects of  these  courts  :  see  under  Ecclesiastical 
Courts :  its  deficiency  in  self-governing  power. 
Chapter  XXVIII — see  Contents  ;  its  exalta- 
tion necessary,  359  ;  its  members :  see  Con- 
verts SLXiAChristians ;  its  ministers  :  see  Minis- 
ters, 


Circular  :  business  done  by,  134. 

Cities  and  towns  :  why  often  elevated,  105  ;  how 
built  and  inhabited,  108,  IC9. 

City  High  Schools.     See  High  Schools. 

Civil  anil  Military  Gazette  :  quoted  on  religious 
establishment,  36  ;  quoting  the  Oudh  Akhbar, 
with  comments,  123,  124  ;  its  view  of  missions 
and  missionaries,  237,  238. 

Civil  Service  of  India  :  how  formed,  28,  29  ;  for- 
eigners and  natives  in,  29  ;  some,  but  not  many, 
Christian  natives  in,  319,  324,  325. 

Civilization  and  savagery  :  ills.,  238. 

Clan  Line  of  Steamers,  11. 

Clarkabad  :  not  a  remarkable  success,  274  ;  allu- 
sion, 325. 

Classes  on  railways,  and  fares,  77,  78. 

Climate  of  the  Punjab  ;  Chapter  IV— see  Con- 
tents ;  its  distinguishing  characteristic,  40  ;  ef- 
fect on  the  natives,  44,  107,  108,  123  ;  effect  on 
the  health  and  longevity  of  Europeans  and 
missionaries,  48,  50,  54,  216,  362-365,  385  ;  ef- 
fect on  the  temper,  368,  369. 

Clothing.     See  under  Dress. 

Cobra  :  used  in  persecution,  zoi  ;  one  killed  by 
Mr.  Caldwell,  45:  ills.,  45,  211,  379. 

Cocoanut  trees,  ills.,  247. 

Colaba  Station,  15. 

College,  preparation  for,  required,  164. 

Colleges,  anti-Christian,  114,  115,  354. 

Colleges,  Christian  :  at  Lahore  and  Madras,  169; 
number  of  Christian  students,  169;  U.  P.,  at 
Rawal  Pindi,  172,  173,  ills.,  171  ;  Dr.  Duff's, 
162,  163  ;  Bombay  Free  Church  College,  165  ; 
primarily  for  the  conversion  of  the  heathen, 
162,  165  ;   statistics  of  degrees,  165,  384. 

Colleges  of  all  kinds  in  India:  statistics,  163. 

Cologne,  route  via,  20. 

Colporteur.     See  Book  Shops. 

Comity  and  courtesy  among  missions  :  necessity 
for,  95,  96,  220,  358  ;  rules  of,  96. 

Commander-in-chief  of  the  Indian  army  :  the  po- 
sition, 29,  30  ;  who  have  held  it,  30. 

Commentaries  on  the  Bible  in  vernacular  tongues: 
few  and  much  needed,  290.  306;  number  given, 
308  ;  one  mentioned,  309. 

Commissioners  :  Chief,  22,  29  ;  ordinary,  30,  102, 
196,  226  ;  Deputy,  30  ;  Assistant,  30.  See  also 
Deputy  Commissioner. 

Committees  :  Vice-regal,  District  and  Municipal, 
28,  29.     See  under  each. 

Common,  of  a  village  or  town,  188,  264. 

"Common  Prayer,"  in  Urdu,  309. 

Comorin,  Cape,  245. 

Comparative  religion  :  good  use  of  the  science, 
199 ;  bad  use  of,  356,  357.     See  Apologies. 

Compassion  for  souls  :  its  effect  on  the  nerves, 
363,  and  on  the  heart,  376;  need  of  it  in  India, 
128,  363. 

Compound  system  ;  its  uses  and  evils,  262,  275. 

Compromise  :  danger  of  it,  in  missions,  356.  See 
Comparati7ie  Religion. 

Concordance  in  Urdu,  309. 

Concubinage  :   legalized  by  Islam,  125,  126. 

Conferences:  of  the  mission,  137;  of  Christians 
and  workers,  274,  298  ;  devotional  for  mission- 
aries few,  369 ;  of  Association  of  Female 
Workers, 90;  of  missionaries  of  different  mis- 
sions, 90.     See  Conventions . 

Conflicts  of  missionaries  :  their  evils,  05,  96,  loi, 
342-344  ;  effect  on  piety,  373,  374.  See  Comity 
and  Missionaries. 

Congregationalists ;  their  ecclesiastical  polity, 
273;  educational  work,  165;  statistics,  384, 
385.  See  American  Board  and  London  Mis- 
sionary  Society. 

Congregations.  See  under  Church. 


TOPICAL   INDEX 


393 


Conscience   and   natural    affection   among  Mos- 
lems, 126. 
Conscious  Strength  :  ills.,2,Z^- 
Constantinople:    route  via,   18;  Russia   wants, 

24  ;  Moslem  architecture  there,  116. 
Contagious  Diseases  Act,  33,  38,  39.     See  Social 

Evil. 
Contents,  5. 

Contributions  of  produce,  253.     See  Liberality. 
Controversy,  public :    its    value   as   a  means  of 
evangelism,  199,  201  ;  between  Christians  and 
Moslems  at  Amritsar,  199,  201  ;  between  Rev. 
E.  P.  Swift  and  Saraswati,  201  ;  qualifications 
for,  199,  201  ;  disturbances  from,  227. 
Conventions.     See  Conferences  \  ills.,  298. 
Conversation:  a  means  of  evangelism,  151,   152; 

in  zenanas,  177,  178. 
Conversion :  defined,  149  ;  ordinary  preparation 
for,  149,  198,  199  :  means,  149  ;  of  the  Chuh- 
ras  accounted  for,  246-248;  of  India,  when? 
359-361  ;  of  the  world,  when  ?  361 ;  group  or 
chain,  328,  331. 

Conversions :  a  first  aim  in  mission  work,  148, 
149 :  hard  to  tell  by  what  mission  methods 
(152)  orpersons  (153,  i54)secured;  whenrapid, 
stimulate  entlmsiasm,  376. 

Converts  of  India  Missions  :  mostly  from  the 
despised  and  lowly,  245  ;  more  rapid  increase 
than  that  of  Islam  or  Hinduism,  352-355  ; 
growth,  384,  385.     See  second  subject  below. 

Converts  of  the  early  church  like  those  of  India, 
203,  245,  246. 

Converts  of  the  U.  P.  Missions  :  described, 
Chapters  XXI,  XXII — see  Contents  ;  classes 
drawn  from,  243-248  ;  some  from  high  castes, 
328;  their  baptism — see  Bnfitisjit :  number, 
240,  242,  386;  their  distribution,  241,  242; 
illiterate  generally,  243,  244,267;  their  em- 
ployment, 243,  244;  sometimes  fed  and  shel- 
tered gratis,  201,  275  ;  their  training — see 
Training;  baptized  adults,  333,  334;  Secret 
Converts,  178.  238,  239.     See  Christians. 

Conveyances  ;  various  kinds,  76-81 ;  when  pub- 
lic, how  secured,  81. 

Cook  ;    what  he  will  not  do,  60. 

Cooking  in  camp,  188,  189. 

Coolies;  their  wages,  109. 

Co-operation  among  missions  and  missionaries. 
Chapter  X ;  between  foreign  workers  and 
natives,  342-346. 

Corea  :  recent  changes  there,  23. 

Corinthians,  First,  i  :  26-29  quoted,  245,  246 ; 
13  :  S,  7  quoted,  371. 

Corinthians,  Second,  4  :  8,  9  quoted,  373. 

Cossacks  :  their  character,  24,  27. 

Council  :  India,  in  London,  28 ;  viceregal,  29. 

Courts,  ecclesiastical.     See  Ecclesiastical. 

Courts  of  native  houses;  described,  176;  ills., 
359  ;  of  Institute,  ills.,  278. 

Covenanted  servants,  29. 

Covetousness  of  native  Christians,  253. 

Cow  species:    worshiped,   in,  112,    113;  ills., 

129.  144.  367- 

Crickets  deface  book  covers,  58. 

Crime:  diminished  by  British  Rule,  35,  127,  128. 

Criticism,  unfriendly  :  its  nature  and  results,  219, 
220. 

Critics  doubt  piety  of  native  Christians,  249. 

Crocodile  :  ills.,  310. 

Cross  :  the  greatest  of  mission  life,  60,  61. 

Cuba  referred  to,  301. 

Culture  :  of  missionaries,  365-367  ;  not  the  pri- 
mary end  of  missions,  148. 

Cummmgs,  Rev.  T.  F. :  his  baptism  of  a  Mos- 
lem family,  225. 

Curiosity  draws  a  crowd  in  evangelism,  156. 


Custom  House  business,  12. 

Czar   of  Russia:     his    Asiatic   dominions,    18; 
conquers  Khiva,  23. 

Daedalus  lighthouse:  described,  14. 

Dak    bungalow:    described,     81,    82;     used    in 

itineration,  192. 
Dak  Ghari,  or  Dak  Gari  :  described,  78,  80,  81  ; 

ills.,  79. 
Dakoits  :  depredations  of,  127. 
Dal  (lentils,  pulse):    used   by   missionaries,  58, 

189. 
Dales,  Rev.  J.   B.,  D.D.,  note  about,  132;  por- 
trait, 133. 
Dalhousie:   described,   52,   54,  75;   occupied  by 

Scotch  Mission,  loi. 
Damien,  Father,  205. 
Dandi :  described,  80;  ills.,  49. 
Danes:  began  Protestant  Missions  in  India,  94; 

their  fields,  97. 
Dangers  :  threatening  Christian  work  in  India, 

356-358.     See  Missions  in  India  and  Outlook. 
Dardanelles,  24. 

Dari,  cotton  carpet:  explained,  188;  in  tents,  188. 
Darjiling,  pronounced,  and   sometimes   written, 

Darjeeling:  a  hill  station,  50;  capital  of  Bengal 

Government,  37;  allusion,  91. 
Darzi,  defined,  56. 
Daulah's  history,  258. 
Dayananda    Saraswati:    founder    of   the    Arya 

Samaj,  114;  debate  with  Mr.  Swift,  201. 
Deathbed:    of  Daulah,   258;   of  Kaka,   256;   of 

Rahim  Bakhsh,  255;  of  Chhero,  259,  260. 
Death  rate:   in  Punjab,  from  different  diseases, 

44-47;   of  male  and  female   infants,   128.     See 

also  Mortality  and  Statistics. 
Debate,  public,  on  religion.     See  Controversy. 
Decennial  Missionary  Conference:  at  Bombay, 

on  education,  169;  when  held,  90. 
Degh  river:  described,  75. 
Degchi,  cooking  vessej:  ills.,  106. 
Degrees  given  by  universities,  164. 
Dehra  Dun  Valley,  53. 
Deism  of  Aryans,  114. 
Deities,  local,  in.     See   also   Gods,   Idols  and 

Idolatry. 
Delaware,  compared  with  Punjab,  96. 
Delhi:  railway  to,  16,  76:  ills,  of  its  bazar,  155; 

Missions  at,  99,  205;  Hindu  convention  at,  115. 
Demosthenes,  175. 
Denmark:  missionaries  from,  94. 
Dennis,  Dr.,  quoted,  70,  229,  230;  his  style,  367. 
Deodar  trees:  of  Dharmsala,  52;  ilh.,  49,  283. 
Depressed  Classes.     See  Castes,  Loiv 
Deputy  Commissioner:  his  oflice,  field  and  im- 
portance, 30;  helps  missions,  226,  235;  of  Sial- 

kot,  279;  allusions,  190,  228. 
Dera  Ismail  Khan,  occupied  by  the  C.  M.  S. ,  98. 
Despised  and  downtrodden,  reached  first  by  the 

gospel,  167      See  Castes,  Lo7v,  and  Converts. 
Deva  Dharm  Samaj,  a  halt-way  station,  167. 
Devotion:  unfavorable  opportunities  for,  among 

missionaries,    369-371.     See    Conferences  and 

Prayer  Meetings. 
Dhariwal:  its  woolen  fabrics,  106. 
Dharmkot  described,  50,  51;  its  temperature,  54. 
Dharmsala:  described,  48-54,   75,  353;  its  rains, 

42,  43;  picture  of  Sunny  Side  and  Shady  Side, 

49:  unisn  services  at,  go. 
Dharmsalas,  Hindu:  described,  193. 
Dheds,  245. 

Dhobi,  or  washerman:  ills.,  214. 
Dhoti,  or  Hindu's  hair  tuft,  described,  109. 
Dhulip  Singh's  portrait,  22;  his  strange  freak,  22, 

23. 
Diarbekir,  on  Euphrates  route,  17,  18, 


394 


TOPICAL   INDEX 


Dilke,  Lady:  her  view  of  missions,  237,  238. 
Dina  Nath's  character,  255. 
Dinanagar:  railway  to,  76;  accident  at,  192. 
Dingal  Singh,  Sardar:  his  kindness,  226. 
Directors:  of  Public  Instruction,  163.     See  also 

Boards 
Disciples'  Mission,  97. 
Discipline,  Book  of:  translated,  307,  308. 
Discipline,  cases  of:  250,  252,  272;  before  pancha- 
yats,  271;  how  affected  by  grant  of  self-govern- 
ing power,  349. 
Discouragements  in  work:  their  effect  on  activity, 

221,  and  piety,  373. 
Diseases  in  India:  how  they  affect  the  health  and 
longevity,  362-374;  how  they  affect  the  temper, 
369.     See  Climate  and  below. 
Diseases  of  the  Punjab,  45-47,  54. 
Dishonesty:  common  in  India,  127,  142,  371,  372. 
Dispensary:  at  Sialkot,  181-183,231;  at  Pasrur, 
182;  at  Jhelum,  42,  182,  229 ;  at  Bhera,  42,  182. 
See  Hospital  and  Medical  Missionary  IVork. 
District  Committees:   have  limited    powers,  29; 

help  medical  missionary  work,  73,  181. 
Ditt.  of  Marali,  242. 

Division  between  foreigners  and  natives  in  mis- 
sions, 319,  320,  340,  342-344. 
Divisions  for  Commissioners,  30,  102. 
Divorce,  effect  of,  in  India,  222. 
Doctors  in  India,  47,  48. 
Dogra  titti:  beginning  of  work  there,  242. 
Dogri  language,  in  U.  P.  field,  86. 
Dogs  annoying,  191;  ills.,  68,  367. 
Doli,  in  bridal  procession,  187;  ills.,  135.     See 

Palanqtiin. 
Domestic  conditions.  Chapter  VI.,  150,  174-176, 

263,  264,  287. 
Doms,  low-caste  people,  118. 
Dover,  straits  of,  20. 

Drawbacks:  to  evangelistic  work.  Chapter  XX 
— see  Contents;  to  Christian  Training,  275,  276; 
to  Girls'  Schools,  287;  to  Primary  Schools, 
267-270,'  to  educational  work,  165,  167,  294, 
295;  to  itinerating  work,  190  ;  to  bazar  preach- 
ing, 157,  158;  to  worldly  prosperity  of  Chris- 
tians, 325-327 ;  to  ecclesiastictil  courts,  299, 
300;  to  piety  among  missionaries,  368-374. 
See  also  Hindrances  and  Persecution. 
Dress:  of  missionaries,  56,  57;  of  natives,  109, 
110,263;  of  the  different  classes  of  Punjabies, 
120,  121;  of  the  rich,  no;  of  the  Sikhs,  113; 
of  policemen,  ills  ,  235;  of  Parsees, ///j.,  115, 
341;  of  girl  pupils,  286,  287,  ills.,  228,  288; 
native  dress  undesirable  for  missionaries,  214. 
Drunkel  fair,  160. 
Drunkenness,  not   common  in    India,   a  foreign 

vice,  122. 
Drysdale,  Mr:  dismissed  from  the  civil  service 

for  missionating,  34,  38. 
Duff,  Dr.:  founder  of  educational  policy,  162;  his 
theory,  work  and  success,  162, 163;  could  be  in- 
dependent, i66  ;  his  eloquence,  366. 
Dufferin,  Lord:  his  viceroyalty,  31,  32;  at  Rawal 

Pindi  durbar,  105. 
Dufferin,  Lady:  her  medical  scheme,  72,  179. 
Duschak,  on  Transcaspian  railway,  20. 
Dust  storms:  described,  43;  allusion,  187. 
Duty,  sense  of,  a  sustaining  power,  370. 
Dyspepsia  in  the  Punjab,  46. 

Eagle,  ills.,  217;  and  her  young,  ills.,  261. 

Eagle's  Nest,  at  Dharmkot,  50. 

Earthquakes  :  in  the  Punjab,  43  :  in  Kashmir,  43. 

Eastern  travel  :  recent  changes  in,  o. 

Ecclesiastical  Courts  in  U.  P.  Church  of  India, 
33^>  337  ;  their  constitution  and  work,  129-131, 
'33>  134. 136 ;  their  powers,  134-136  ;  co-opera- 


Eccleiastical  Courts —  Continued. 
tion  with  the  Mission,  134-136;  dependence 
upon  the  Mission,  299  ;  their  work  of  training 
officers,  298-300 ;  drawbacks  to  their  work, 
299,  300  ;  their  qualifications  for  exercising  au- 
thority, 340-349  ;  why  not  wait  for  financial 
self-support?  348.  See  also  Church,  U.  P.,  in 
India. 

Ecclesiastical  Development  and  Maturity  :  de- 
scribed, Chapters  XXVI,  XXVII,  XXVIII— 
see  Contents  ;  their  necessity,  310  ;  what  they 
include,   310'   314 ;    how   to   be   secured,    328- 

,331.  335.  336,  347- 

Economy  of  fakirism,  206,  207,  210-217. 

Edinburgh,  side  trip  to,  13. 

Education  Committee  of  Presbytery  :  examines 
Girls'  B.  School,  286  ;  its  history,  130,  336,  337. 

Education  of  Christians  in  India :  anxiety  for, 
among  Christians  themselves,  251,  252,  256, 
343 ;  especially  for  their  children,  202 ;  aids 
them  in  worldly  matters,  324,  330;  highly  im- 
portant every  way,  267,  358;  how  far  advanced 
generally,  121,  122,  291;  how  far  advanced  in 
U.  P.  Mission,  294-297;  means  used  to  secure 
improvement,  267-270,  Chapters  XXIV, 
XXV  ;  drawbacks,  267-270,  295-297.  See  also 
Christians,  Converts,  Drawbacks,  Hin- 
drances and  Statistics. 

Education  of  native  ministry.     See  Ministers. 

Education  of  non-Christians  in  India :  how  far 
advanced,  see  Statistics,  86,  122,  163,  165, 
17s  ;  of  different  religious  sects,  a  comparison, 
113,  121,  122;  effect  on  Hindu  reforms,  354, 
355;  effect  on  home  life,  175;  help  or  not  to 
evangelism,  165,  173,  244,  296,  297,  358;  other 
effects,  165-167,  343,  &c. 

Educational  Policy  of  Evangelism :  general  ac- 
count. Chapter  XVI  ;  its  aim,  162;  a  differ- 
ent view,  166;  its  founder,  162;  its  chief 
agents,  164,  165  ;  its  results,  165,  173,  244,  297. 
358 ;  causes  of  failure,  165-167 :  objections  to 
it,  167,  168,  297,  343,  358;  a  secular  burden, 
144,  145.  146;  defense  of  it,  ^68,  169:  present 
state  of  the  controversy,  169  ;  author's  conclu- 
sion, 169,  170;  suggestions  of  change,  170;  in 
the  U.  P.  Mission,  170-173. 

Educational  System  of  the  Indian  Government: 
described,  163-165  :  origin,  163  ;  Wood's  de- 
spatch, 163,  164  :  Universities,  163,  164  ;  Direc- 
tors, 163:  different  degrees,  164:  dominates 
all  education,  165,  166:  Education  Commission, 
164;  the  Punjab  Branch,  164,  165;  helps  pri- 
vate and  mission  efforts,  36,  72,  73,  164,  270; 
but  is  said  to  foster  infidelity  unintentionally, 
151,  i6g.     See  Statistics  and  British  Rule. 

Egypt:  its  Arabic,  87  :  its  Moslem  architecture, 
116;  its  Presbytery,  347;  its  Mission,  65  ;  gifts 
to  its  Mission  from  India,  315  ;  passed  en  route, 
M- 

Ekkas  :  described,  80;  on  highways,  75,  187; 
ills.,  i86,  367. 

Elders  of  U.  P.  Church  in  India  :  from  the  In- 
stitute, 284;  material  for,  in  U.  P.  Mission, 
335,  341;  their  training  possible,  271,  335; 
their  fewness  and  the  causes,  335,  336,  338  ; 
their  excellent  character,  340,341  ;  their  work 
as  evangelists,  195. 

Electric  light  in  the  Suez  Canal,  13. 

Elephanta,  Caves  of,  15. 

Elgin,  Earl  of,  his  monument  at  Dharmsala,  52. 

Elgin,  Lord:  the  present  viceroy,  31,  33. 

Elliott,  Sir  Charles  :  on  the  value  of  Missions,  37, 
38  :   on  missionary  poverty,  215,  216. 

Eloquence  of  some  missionaries,  365-367. 

Eminabad  :  its  objects  of  interest,  104  ;  mela  at, 
160. 


TOPICAL   INDEX 


395 


Emotion  :  its  cflfect  on  the  nerves,  363. 

Employer's  relation  to  employees  ;  a  means  of 
evangelism,  150,  151  ;  an  obstruction  to  close 
Christian  fellowship,  66,  67.     See  Autocracy. 

Encampment  of  itinerating  missionaries  :  de- 
scribed, 187,  188,  191-193;  its  varied  experi- 
ences, 188-192. 

England  :  its  climate,  362  ;  passage  through,  9- 

13- 

English  Church.     See  Church  0/  England. 

English  Government  iu  India.  See  British 
Rule. 

English  Language  :  how  spoken  by  the  British, 
64  ;  by  Americans,  64  ;  by  some  natives  of  In- 
dia, 86;  by  Eurasians  and  poor  whites,  86; 
taught  in  the  schools  of  India,  86 ;  but  few 
know  it,  86,  290;  not  likely  to  come  into  gen- 
eral use,  86  ;  compared  with  other  tongues,  88  ; 
do  missionaries  improve  in  it  or  the  contrary? 
366,  367  ;  its  proper  use  a  guarantee  of  excel- 
lence in  acquired  tongues,  ^^7. 

English  Officers:  their  peculiarities  and  their  in- 
tercourse with  missionaries,  63,  64.  See  also 
Anglo-Indians  and  Europeans. 

English  Presbyterian  Mission,  97. 

English  sytem  of  medicine,  48.  See  also  Medi- 
cal Science,  Surgeons,  &c. 

Englishmen:  compared  with  Russians,  24-27; 
rivals  of  Russians,  24-27;  in  India,  28-30,  107, 
iig,  120;  battle  of  Ramnagar,  104,  105.  See 
also  Europeans,  English  Oj/jficers,  British 
Colony  and  Anglo-Indians. 

Entrance  Standard :  defined,  164  ;  for  native 
ministers,  317  ;  not  many  passed,  294. 

Ephesians  4  :  13-16  quoted,  382. 

Episcopalians  ;  their  style  of  kneeling,  265 ; 
polity,  273;  chaplains  in  India,  36;  their 
India  Mission  statistics,  384,  385.  See  Church 
of  England,  C.  M.  S..S.  P.  G.,  &c. 

Esplanade,  Bombay  :  its  fine  buildings,  15. 

Established  Church  in  India,  36. 

Etiquette  among  Anglo-Indians,  64,  367  ;  among 
Orientals,  264. 

Euphrates  Route  to  India,  17,  18. 

Eurasians  :  who  they  are,  120 ;  classed  as 
Christians,  iig  :  their  rights,  &c.,  120;  num- 
ber in  the  Punjab,  120;  dress,  120  ;  their  Eng- 
lish, 86  ;  style  of  living,  204,  206,  212  ;  this 
style  recommended  by  some  to  missionaries, 
205-208,  but  improperly,  208-217. 

Europe  :  passage  across  to  India,  9-11  ;  allusions, 
84,  364. 

European  system  of  medicine,  48. 

Europeans  :  in  India  ;  28-30,  107,  119  ;  in  the 
Punjab,  iig,  120;  their  employment,  119:  atti- 
tudes towards  the  natives,  66-68,  343,  344  ; 
how  affected  by  the  India  climate,  362,  ^63, 
368,  369.  See  also  Englishmen,  English  On- 
cers, Anglo-Indians  and  British  Colony. 

Evangelical  grade  of  ministers.  See  under  Min- 
isters, Native. 

Evangelistic  work  :  described,  Chapters  XV  to 
XXII — see  Contents  ;  preparation  for,  140, 
141,  196,  197;  general  principles,  148,  149; 
home  religion,  150;  social  intercourse,  151, 
152,  167;  bazar  preaching,  154-158;  Mela 
work,  159-161  ;  through  schools,  162-173,  267  ; 
in  Zenanas.  174-179  ;  medical  means,  145,  146, 
179-183;  through  literature,  184,  185,  308; 
through  itineration,  185-195;  through  rituals, 
198,  199  ;  through  apologies  and  controversy, 
198-201  ;  through  worldly  influences,  201-203  ; 
through  asceticism,  203-217;  hindrances,  218- 
236,  274,  275  ;  results.  237-260  ;  result  in  U.  P. 
field  summarized,  350  ;  different  methods  com- 
pared, 154,  158,  161,  165,  173,  178,  181,  183, 1S4, 


Evangelistic  votY— Continued. 

193,  194,  &c.  ;  evangelism  by  natives,  195,  196, 
254  ;  would  be  helped  by  more  independent 
church  courts,  344,  346  ;  helps  self-support,  327, 
328,  330,  331  ;  preaching  needed  in,  156,  157, 
199,  370. 

Evidences  of  Christianity  :  taught  in  schools, 
198  :  Dr.  Alden's  book  translated,  185 ;  other 
similar  books,  185,  308. 

Evils  in  mission  fields  and  their  removal,  342-344. 

Ewing's  "  Greek  Lexicon,"  307. 

Examinations:  of  Universities,  164;  passing 
tiiese  the  great  aim  of  scholars,  166. 

Exchange  to  India  :  rates  of,  73. 

Excise  laws,  33,  38,  39. 

Exorcist  of  Pasrur  converted,  251. 

Eye  diseases  in  the  Punjab,  46. 

Faith  :  strengthened  by  the  presence  of  heathen- 
ism, 376. 

Faith  Mission,  97. 

Fakirism  :  described,  204,  205,  208,  209;  recom- 
mended to  Christian  laborers,  205,  323 ;  argu- 
ments favoring,  206-208 ;  arguments  against, 
208-217;  injurious  to  health  and  life,  48,  50, 
216. 

Fakirs  :  described,  204,  205  ;  means  of  livelihood, 
204,  205,  206,  321;  influence,  206;  number  in 
India,  180,206;  liberty  given  them,  156  ;  hard- 
ships, 212  ;  a  help  to  Hinduism,  205;  help  to 
Islam,  117  :  give  trouble,  191  ;  ills,,  124  ;  Chris- 
tian fakirs,  205,  206. 

False  impressions  regarding  evangelism  cor- 
rected, 152-154. 

False  religions  :  not  entirely  destitute  of  truth, 
igg  :  but  to  be  destroyed,  356. 

Families,  conversion  of:  difficult  among  caste 
people,  224,  225  ;  but  imporfant,  328,  331. 

Family  religion  :  a  means  of  evangelism,  150. 

Family  worship  :  among  missionaries,  57. 

Farman  Shah's  firmness  under  persecution,  255. 

Farming  as  an  employment  for  native  Chris- 
tians, 324,  325. 

Fashion  does   not   trouble  missionaries,   56,  57, 

367- 

Fasting:  as  a  religious  exercise  for  Christians, 
266  ;  common  in  the  east,  116,  117,  205,  266. 

Fazl  Din  :  testimony  regarding  him,  255 ;  por- 
trait, 342. 

Fees:  in  schools,  the  effect,  166;  in  medical 
work,  181. 

Female  education  in  India,  175.  See  also  Ze- 
nana,Women,  Schools,  &c. 

Females  ;  mortality  of.  44,  48,  128. 

Ferns  of  Dharmsala,  51,  52. 

Ferries  over  streams,  75,  76. 

Festivals:  Hindu,  112;  Moslem.  116,  117. 

Feudatory  states.     See  Native  States. 

Fevers  :  in  India,  46  ;  in  the  Punjab,  45-47. 

Fields  :  of  different  India  Missions,  97  :  of  Pun- 
jab Missions,  0S-103  ;  of  U.  P  Mission,  9g-io3, 
Chapters  XI,  XII. 

Filthiness  :  of  villages,  263;  of  new  school 
pupils,  286;  of  fakirs,  205. 

Finances  of  U.  P.  Mission  ;  good.  Chapter  VII ; 
as  to  current  expenses,  69:  as  to  special  ob- 
jects. 70  ;  as  to  permanent  improvements,  70, 
71  ;  their  multiplicity,  141-144  ;  how  managed, 
136,  137  ;  a  burden  on  missionaries,  146,  147. 
See  also  Income. 

Financial  commissioner's  tour,  234. 

Fire  Arms  :  forbidden  to  natives,  127  ;  allowed 
to  missionaries  and  other  Europeans,  190. 

Flesh  :  abstinence  from  as  food,  112. 

Flowers  :  ills.,  147,  293. 

Flying  foxes,  ills.,  318, 


S96 


TOPICAL   INDEX 


Food:  of  missionaries,  57,  58,  189;  of  natives, 
66. 

Forced  labor  in  India,  81,  234. 

p'oreign  Board.  See  Board  0/  Foreign  Mis- 
sions, 

Foreign  Missions  after  a  Century,  quoted,  70, 
229,  230. 

Forman,  Rev.  J.  N.  :  his  experience  in  self- 
denial,  215. 

Forms  and  ceremonies  as  means  of  evangelism, 
198. 

Fort :  at  Attock,  104  ,  of  Hari  Parbat,  at  Srina- 
gar,  ills. ,  36. 

Fourth  of  July  in  India,  63,  367. 

Free  Baptist  Mission,  97. 

Free  Church  of  Scotland  :  its  fields,  97  ;  commis- 
sioners, 133  ;  good  educational  work,  165. 

Freedmen's  Missions  :  contributions  to  in  India, 
315- 

French  tongue  :  compared  with  others,  85,  86,  88. 

Fret  and  worry.     See  Worry. 

Fretweil,  Mrs.  :  at  Sialkot  Dispensary,  182. 

Friends'  Missions  :  97. 

Frugality  and  industry  of  natives,  123. 

Fruits  ol  the  Punjab,  also  imported,  57. 

Fund:  Stewart,  70,  71,  279,  289;  Q.  C,  71; 
Lady  Dufferin,  72,  179. 

Furloughs,  needed  by  missionaries,  54,  371,  372. 

Furniture  :  ol  missionaries,  56,  188;  of  villagers, 
263,  ills.,  65,  359. 

Gaddi  people  of  Dharmsala,  50. 

Gajipur,  now  Rawal  Pindi,  103. 

Citli,  defined,  227. 

Game,  found  in  itinerating,  187,  190. 

Gandaru,  a  peak  at  Dharmsala,  51. 

Ganda's  portrait,  342. 

Ganesh,  or  Ganesha,  the  god  of  wisdom,  iii ; 
ills.,  126. 

Ganga.  from  hemp  plant,  122. 

Gangohar,  home  of  Bir  Singh,  235. 

Ganpati,  images  of,  cast  into  the  sea,  353. 

Gari,  general  name  for  a  wagon,  78-80;  dak 
gari.     'bee  Vak  Gari. 

General  Assembly  of  U.  P.  Church  :  on  the 
baptism  of  polygamists,  222  ;  establishes  Pun- 
jab Synod,  and  two  new  Presbyteries,  130, 
336;  introduces  ladies  into  the  Mission,  131, 
132  ;  receives  a  memorial  from  native  ministers, 
344,  347  :  a  natural  mediator  between  parties 
in  the  field.  132.  133  ;  allusions,  288,  289. 

Gentleness  of  natives.  122,  123. 

Geographic  facts  about  our  field,  105,  106. 

Geok  Tepe  conquered,  23. 

Geologic  facts  about  our  field.  105,  106. 

German  Evangelical  Mission,  97. 

Germans  in  India.  97,  T07. 

Ghakkars,  described,  103. 

Ghara  :  its  use,  78  :  ills.,  49,  65,  124,  153,  155, 
187,  359- 

G/ii,  clarified  butter.  58. 

Gibraltar  :   route  7'iii,  10,  13. 

Giffin,  Mrs.  E.  M.  :  her  visit  to  India,  65. 

Gilahries,  squirrels,  ills.,  250. 

Gillespie,  John,  D    D.,  visits  India,  64. 

Girishk.  on  the  Helmund  river,  20. 

Girls'  Boarding  School  at  Sialkot :  under  the 
Mission,  137,  285,  286:  its  history  and 
character,  284-288 ;  origin,  284;  location,  28=;, 
buildings  and  court,  285  ;  helped  by  the  Q  C. 
Fund,  71  :  object.  285,  286 ;  a  day  school  also, 
285  ;  pupils  trained  in  native  style,  i85  ;  pupils 
eating,  ills.,  288;  course  of  study,  286; 
heathen  teachers  of,  286,  296,  297  :  teaches 
Shorter  Catechism.  306  ;  drawbacks  to,  287  ; 
results  of,  288  ;  statistics,  284,  288. 


Girls'  schools  :  in  Jhelum,  170,  229  ;  at  Rawal 
Pindi,  ills.,  228  ;  at  Gujranwala,  170,  172,  228; 
at  Sialkot,  179;  drawbacks  to,  287;  fewer 
pupils  than  in  Boys'  Schools,  287,  statistics, 
175,  284,  288;  allusion,  137. 

Given,  Miss:  Jhelum  Schools,  172;  and  the 
persecution  of  Gulam  Bibi,  231. 

Glasgow:  side  trip  to,  13. 

Goats,  ills.,  52,  153;   theirfood,  190. 

Gods:  of  the  Hindus,  iii,  112,  125;  of  the 
Sikhs,  112,  113;  of  the  Jains,  113,  of  Bud- 
dhists, 114;  immoral,  125.  See  Deities  and 
Idolatry. 

Golden  Temple  at  Amritsar,  112. 

Gonda  and  Rev.  S.  Knowles,  161. 

Good  Hope  .  Cape  of,  9. 

Good  works  of  the  heathen,  321,  322. 

Gordon,  Rev.  Andrew,  D.  D.:  talk  at  Kala 
Patthar,  152:  theo.  professor,  288.  289;  his 
literary  style,  367  ;  favored  Persian  Punjabi, 
302  ;  aids  in  Psalm  translation,  303. 

Gordon,  Miss  E.  G.  :  her  adventure  with  a 
snake,  45 ;  an  experience  in  zenana  work, 
228,  229. 

Gordon,  Miss  Euphie  :  her  medical  work,  181. 

Gordon,  Miss  Ida,  visits  India,  64. 

Gospel :  filters  up  instead  of  down,  245 ,  how 
to  secure  for  it  a  favorable  hearing,  149,  150, 
received  with  joy,  252. 

Gossner's  Mission,  97. 

Gough,  Lord  :  at  Ramnagar,  104,  105. 

Government  of  India,     ^ee  British  Rule. 

Government  Schools,  See  British  Rule, 
Educational  and  System  Schools. 

Governors  :  their  appointment,  powers  and 
salary,  28,  29,  30. 

Governors-General.     See  Viceroys. 

Govind  Singh,  a  Sikh  Guru.  112,  113. 

Graces  needed  by  a  missionary,  378-380. 

Grain  of  the  Punjab,  57,  58 

Granth,  written  by  Arjan  and  worshiped,  112. 

Grants-in-aid  of  schools  and  hospitals,  36,  72, 
73,  270;  conditions  on  which  they  are  given 
and  the  effect,  166. 

Great  Britain  :  relations  to  China  and  other 
neighbors,  21  ;  connection  with  India,  28;  mis- 
sionaries from.  385. 

Greece  :   Bible  distribution  in,  301. 

Greek  invasions  of  India,  27. 

Greek  medical  system  in  India,  47,  48. 

Greek  tongue :  its  study  in  the  Theo.  Seminary 
defended,  290-292;  needed  by  ministers,  290, 
291:  use  in  Bible  translation,  291:  easily  learned 
by  students.  292  ;  text  books  in  Urdu,  307. 

Gugga  :  tradition  about,  118. 

Cugga  gana  described,  118,  119. 

Gujranwala  City  :  its  High  School.  72,  73,  170, 
172,  321  ;  birthplace  of  Ranjit  Singh,  104;  its 
mausoleum,  104;  a  Sikh  center,  104:  book- 
shop there,  184  ;  its  Girls'  Schools  described, 
170,  172,  228,  229  :  its  zenana  work,  229  :  pub- 
lic debate  there,  201  :  non-Christians  of,  237  ; 
Hindu  women  of,  238,  239:  a  Muhammadan 
of,  321  :   its  blankets,  106;   allusion,  285. 

Gujranwala  District:  historical  connection  with 
the  Sikhs,  104,  105  :  Sikhs  common  now,  121  ; 
melas  there.  160  :  places  of  interest  in,  104  : 
mortality  in  1890,  46;  work  there,  233,  234  : 
mission  bound.iry  in,  loi  ;  movement  toward 
Christianity  at  Dogra  tatti.  242  :  two  low-caste 
Christians  of,  257,  25S  ;  Musallies  of,  246 ; 
allusion.  90. 

Gujranwala  West  .  sparsely  settled,  103  ;  histor- 
ical places,  103,  104  ;  agrictdtural  settlement  on 
the  Chenab  Cannl,  325;  work  there,  233  ;  statis- 
tics, 241,  386  ;  allusion,  103. 


TOPICAL   INDEX 


397 


Gujranwnla  Presbytery  organized,  336. 

Gujrat  District :  occupied  by  the  Scotch  Mis- 
sion, 99  ;   mortahty  in  1890,  46. 

Gujrat  Province  :   the  Dheds  of,  245. 

Gujrati  tongue,  85. 

Gulu  Shah's  tomb  and  its  cattle  fair,  160. 

Gurdaspur  City  :  founded,  104  ;  medical  work, 
181;  book-shop,  184;  Mission  House,  ills., 
368;  W.  M.  S.  organized  there,  131. 

Gurdaspur  District :  in  U.  P.  field,  09  ;  dense 
population,  103;  woolen  fabrics  of  Dhariwal, 
io6;  sugar  of  Sujaiipur,  io6  ;  Ravi  at  Mad- 
hopur,  105 ;  in  Indian  mutiny,  105 ;  Sikhs 
there,  104,  121;  melcis  there,  160,274;  some 
work  there,  161  ;   Dalhousie  surrendered,  loi. 

Gurdaspur  Presbyte-ry  organized,  336. 

Gurkhas  at  Dharmsala,  50;   in  army,  50,  107. 

Gurmukhi  tongue  :  described,  86,  302. 

Gurmukhi  version  of  the  Bible  :  its  history,  302. 

Guru  (religious  teacher)  :  Sikh  example,  112, 
113  ;   Sansi  example,  118. 

Gypsies  in  India,  118. 

Hail  on  the  plains,  43. 

Hair,  crown  tuft  of,  called  a  Choii,  106,  120  ; 
ills.,  325. 

Hakims  defined,  47. 

Halfway  stations  between  Christianity  and 
heathenism,  167. 

Hall  Line  of  Steamers,  11. 

Hanuman,  the  monkey  god,  iii. 

Haqq,  Rev.  Aziz  ul :  his  lawsuits,  226. 

Haqq-i-Skufii ,  143,  225. 

Haramuk,  a  mountain  in  Kashmir,  53. 

Haibor  and  Light  House,  ills.,  183. 

Hardwar  mela,  ills.,  159. 

Hares,  ills.,  254. 

Har  Govind,  a  Sikh^arw,  n2. 

Hari  Parbat  Fort,  at  Srinagar,  ills,  36. 

Hari  Rud  river,  road  along,  20. 

Hawkins,  Bible  translator,  300. 

Hazara  District  :  described,  102  ;  transfer  to  U. 
P.  Mission,  102. 

HazelVs  ^K«aa/ cited,  29. 

Health  ;  conditions  of,  in  India,  Chapter  V  ;  how 
affected  by  mission  work  there,  362-365,  385  ; 
destroyed  by  Salvation  Army  methods,  216. 

Health  resorts  in  India  :  described,  50-54  ;  their 
drawbacks,  54. 

Heat  in  India  :  season  of,  described,  40-42  ;  very 
trying,  .368,  369  ;  guards  against,  41,  58. 

Heathen  :  education  of.  See  Education  of  Non- 
Christians. 

Heathen  assistants  :  in  schools,  146,  168,  170, 
172,  268,  286,  296,  297  ;  in  medical  work,  296. 

Heathenism ;  its  atmosphere  stifling  to  piety, 
370-372  ;  its  repelling  effect,  376  ;  to  be  resisted 
without  compromise,  356  ;  the  death  struggle 
yet  to  come,  201. 

Hebrew  text  books  in  Urdu,  307. 

Hebrew  tongue  :  needed  by  native  ministers,  290, 
291,  302;  should  be  taught  in  theo.  semi- 
naries, 290-292 ;  easily  learned  by  Indian  stu- 
dents, 292. 

Helmund  river :  road  beside  it,  20. 

Herat  :  on  the  road  to  India,  19. 

Heresy  in  Indi.i,  290. 

Hermannsburgh  Mission,  97. 

Herodotus  speaks  of  the  Indus,  103. 

Heterogeneousness  of  Indian  society,  68. 

Hidayat  Masih's  restoration,  255. 

High  Caste  Converts.  See  Converts,  Castes 
and  Christians. 

High  Churchism,  or  Ritualism,  in  India,  64  ;  no 
help  in  evangelism,  198.  See  Qxford 
BroiherhoQii  and  Ceremonies, 


High  Courts,  29,  30. 

High  Schools  defined,  163  ;  in  missions,  165;  at 
Sialkot,  170;  at  Gujranwala,  170,  172,  321;  at 
Jhelum,  170;  at  Rawal  Pindi,  102,  172,  :V/j., 
171:  C.  T.  I.,  see  Christian  Training  Insti- 
tute; non-Christian  teachers  in,  see  Heathen 
Assistants;  secular  work  in,  144,  145;  re- 
ligious exercises  in,  172,  281,  282  ;  usefulness 
in  training  Christians,  278,  284,  294  ;  doubts  of 
evangelistic  usefulness,  165-170,  173  ;  improve- 
ments suggested,  170  ;  allusion,  137. 

Hill  Stations  in  India,  50-54. 

Hill  water-carrier,  ills.,  i-ji. 

Hillali,  on  Euphrates  route,  17. 

Hill,  of  white  ants,  ills.,  59. 

Himalaya  mountains;  described,  98;  snow- 
capped, 106  ;  snow  fields  seen  from  Landour, 
53  ;  at  Dharmsala,  51 ;  in  Kashmir,  53  ;  native 
states  in,  98 ;  a  barrier,  21  ;  different  peaks,  51, 

54- 

Hindi  tongue:  a  branch  of  the  Sanskrit,  85  ;  a 
constituent  part  of  the  Urdu,  85  ;  sometimes 
studied  by  Punjab  missionaries,  86. 

Hindrances :  to  our  mission  work  generally. 
Chapter  XX;  physical,  218;  linguistic  and 
educational,  218  :  from  the  government,  37-39, 
218,  2ig  ;  from  the  lives  of  Europeans,  37,  64, 
124,  125,  219  ;  from  unfriendly  criticism,  219, 
220 ;  from  defects  of  laborers,  220,  221 ;  from 
times  of  communion,  222  ;  from  false  religions, 
224-236;  from  caste,  223-225;  from  mission 
policy,  319,  320;  see  Policy,  Educational 
Policy  and  356-358  ;  hindrances  to  getting  a 
location  for  work,  225-227 ;  to  prosecution  of 
work,  227,  228;  to  the  hearing  of  the  gospel, 
228,  229  ;  to  earnest  inquiry,  229  ;  to  faith  in 
Christ,  229,  230;  to  baptism  of  higher  classes, 
230-234  ;  to  baptism  of  low-castes,  233,  234  ; 
to  the  peace  of  Christians,  234-236  ;  to  primary 
training,  275  ;  to  getting  land,  143  ;  to  educa- 
tional work,  167,  16S,  267-270,  295-297.  343, 
358.     See  also  Dratvbacks  and  Persecution. 

Hindu  :  art,  108  ;  barber,  ills.,  209  ;  carpenter, 
ills.,  108;  doctors,  47,  48;  education,  121, 
122;  fakirs,  204,  205;  farmers,  243;  medical 
work,  47,  48  ;  music,  304-306  ;  sacred  books, 
35,  114,  355;  reforms,  114,  355;  washermen, 
ills.,    214.     See  also  Hindus  and  Hinduism. 

Hindu  Heterodoxy,  quoted  from,  213. 

Hinduism,  modern  :  described,  110-112,  114;  its 
pantheon,  iii,  113,  360;  its  gods  and  idolatry, 
ni;  see  also  Idolatry,  Gods  and  Deities;  its 
false  science,  162  ;  its  view  of  marriage  and 
females,  125,  126  ;  teaches  gentleness,  123  ;  but 
persecutes,  246  ;  its  songs,  306 :  its  captains- 
general,  205;  relation  to  Sikhs,  Jains,  Bud- 
dhists, Aryans  and  others,  113-115,  116,  118; 
among  low  castes,  118;  somewhat  declining, 
355;  grosser  forms  abandoned,  354  ;  recupera- 
tive power,  356  :  how  best  attacked.  162  ;  must 
be  destroyed,  356.  See  Hindu,  Hindus  and 
Natives. 

Hindus  :  of  Aryan  race,  no  ;  their  numbers,  no, 
352-354  ;  castes,  ni,  116,  123,  124  ;  dress,  109, 
no,  120,  121;  habits,  120;  tika.  120;  towns, 
109;  manner  of  eating,  ills.,  106;  education, 
121,  122  ;  panchayats,  271  ;  New  Year's  day, 
160;  their  Tri-murti,  in;  pantheism  and 
polytheism,  43,  in  ;  objects  of  worship,  43, 
in,  112  :  manner  of  worship,  in  ;  gods 
named,  in  ;  gods  immoral,  125;  obstructions 
to  reaching  heaven,  126  ;  their  philosophies, 
246;  festivals,  112,  160;  morals,  122-128  ;  toler- 
ant sometimes,  123;  yet  persecute,  126,  127; 
temperate,  122  ;  liberal,  321,  322,  353;  adverse 
to  killing  animals,  especially  the  cow  species, 


398 


TOPICAL   INDEX 


Hindus — Continued. 

112,  190;  religious  devotion,  353,  354;  women 
especially  bigoted,  48  ;  home  religious  life,  112  ; 
how  they  restore  apostates,  230,  231  ;  hate 
Moslems,  117;  in  our  schools,  267,  286;  in  S. 
Schools,  195,  267;  at  bazar  preaching,  157;  in 
Civil  Service,  325 ;  admire  Christian  home 
life,  216;  sometimes  converted,  244;  converts, 
beneficiaries,  275  ;  sometimes  help  us,  232 ; 
oftener  oppose  us,  226,  232 ;  persecute  con- 
verts, 126,  127,  230,  231  ;  rebel  against  mission 
work,  229  ;  reforms,  355  ;  Sabbath,  a  holiday, 
228  ;  allusions,  21,  159,  170,  204,  209,  219,  239, 
247,  326,  381.  See  Natives,  Hindu  and  Hin- 
duis»i. 

Hindustani  tongue.     See  Urdu. 

Hiouen  Thsaiig's  visit  to  India,  103,  104. 

Hissar,  on  new  route,  16. 

History  of  the  Church  in  Urdu,  307. 

Houses:  of  missionaries,  described,  55,  56;  of 
natives,  108,  109,  263.  See  Bungaiows  and 
Natives  of  India. 

Hukka,  or  huqqa,  native  pipe,  66;  ills.,  153. 

Hukma's  holy  joy,  255. 

Hunter,  Sir  VVni.:  on  universities,  164;  favors 
austerity  in  missionaries,  205  ;  on  languages  of 
India,  85;  on  Indian  poetry  and  music,  304; 
on  medicine  in  India,  47. 

Husband  and  wife  in  India,  174-176,  228,  229. 

Hydaspes,  the  Jhelum,  103. 

Hydraotes,  the  Ravi,  103. 

Hyphasis,  the  Beas,  103. 

Ibbetson,  Denzil,  B.  C.  S. :  quoted,  119. 

Ibis  boat  mentioned,  193. 

Idolatry:  in  India,  iio-n6 ;  at  Bombay,  353. 
See  Gods  and  Deities. 

Ignorance  of  new  converts,  244,  267,  273,  275. 

Illinois  compared  with  our  Mission,  103. 

Illiteracy  of  the  Indian  people,  165.  See  Igno- 
rance and  Natiz'es. 

Ill  health.     See  Health. 

Improvement  of  native  Christians,  254.  See 
Christians  and  Training. 

Income  of  U.  P.  Mission:  its  sources,  69-73; 
from  home  church,  69-71  ;  from  foreign 
laborers,  71,  72:  from  native  Christians,  72; 
from  English  officers  and  residents,  72;  from 
the  government  proper,  72,  73  ;  from  fees,  73; 
from  favorable  exchange,  73.  See  also  Fi- 
nances. 

Independence  of  Mission  churches :  the  great 
thins;  aimed  at,  148,  261,  310  ;  how  far  possessed 
by  Japanese  and  other  churches,  312,  313. 

Independence  of  native  ministers  necessary,  291, 
340,  341  ;  aided  by  a  classical  education,  290, 
291  ;  by  freedom  from  an  autocratic  policy, 
341  ;  and  by  the  grant  of  more  self-governing 
power.  Chapter  XXVIII. 

India:  journey  to,  see  America ;  its  area,  95; 
population,  95,  no;  growth  of  its  population, 
352 :  its  tongues,  85 ;  its  government,  see 
British  Rule,  British  Territory  and  Native 
States;  a  rival  of  Russia,  19;  its  people  de- 
scribed. Chapter  XII  ;  compared  with  Eu- 
ropeans, 122-128;  as  a  Mission  field,  94,  95; 
its  Missions,  map  of,  97;  when  it  will  be- 
come Christian,  359-361  ;  referred  to,. 364,  367, 
369,  371,  376. 

Indian  Army.     See  Army  in  India 

"Indian  Empire,"  by  Sir  Wm.  Hunter:  cited, 
47,  85,  304. 

Indian  Evangelical  Review  :  a  help  to  Missions, 
92  ;  quoted  on  fakirs,  206  ;  an  article  quoted, 
290,  291  ;  cited  on  division  between  mission- 
aries and  natives,  343,  344  ;  quoted  on  growth 


Indian  Evangelical  Reviev) — Continued. 

of  Islam,  352,  353  ;  cited  on  the  conversion  of 
India,  360;  article  on  ill  health,  364;  article  on 
Bible  translation,  301  ;  article  on  baptism  of 
minors,  230,  231. 

Indian  Government.     See  British  Rule. 

Indian  Home  Mission,  97. 

Indian  Missions.     See  Missions  of  India. 

Indian  Ocean,  2. 

Indian  Standard :  a  help  to  Missions,  92. 

Indian  Witness  :  a  help  to  Missions,  92. 

Indo-European  race,  107. 

Indus  :  receives  the  five  rivers,  98;  mentioned  by 
Herodotus,  103;  crossed  by  Alexander,  103; 
boundary  of  Rawal  Pindi,  102;  at  Attock, 
105. 

Industrial  training:  discussed,  324,  326;  at  Se- 
cundia,  Ludhiana  and  Lucknow,  324  ;  of  U. 
P.  Mission,  324  ;  hindrances  to,  326 ;  should 
be  given  native  Christians,  331. 

Infanticide,  female  :  common,  128. 

Infidelity,  Western:  in  India,  114,  117,  151,  219; 
fostered  by  government  education,  so  said, 
151,  169. 

Influence  of  India  Missions,  237,  238. 

Inglis,  John:  at  Sialkot,  279. 

Inns  in  India.     See  Rest  Houses. 

Inquirers  :  their  difficulty,  229,  230;  taught,  272; 
desiring  worldly  help,  203. 

Inspection:  by  sub-superintendents,  271,  272; 
by  missionaries,  272  ;  by  School  Inspectors, 
163,  270. 

Inspectors  of  Schools :  Mission,  270 ;  govern- 
ment, 163,  270. 

Instrumental  music,  156. 

Intellect  and  intelligence :  how  affected  by  mis- 
sionary life,  365-367. 

Intemperance ;  an  obstruction  to  evangelism, 
222. 

Intermediate  class  on  railways,  77. 

International  Series  of  S.  S.  Lessons,  267. 

Intoxicants  of  India,  38,  39,  122. 

Invasion  of  fields,  harmful,  89,  95,  96,  220,  358. 

Ireland  :  seen  en  route,  12. 

Irish  Presbyterian  Mission,  97. 

Irkutsk  founded,  23. 

Isaac,  J.  :  position  in  C.  T.  I.,  282,  284;  por- 
trait of  himself  and  family,  252. 

Isai.  explained,  203. 

Isaiah  58  :  10,  11  quoted,  377. 

Islam  persecutes,  117,201,231-233,  235,246.  See 
Muhammadanism  and  Muhattimadans. 

Israelites  :  their  departure  from  Egypt,  14. 

Italian  ports,  9,  11. 

Italian  shops,  157. 

Itinerating  work  :  described,  184-195  ;  different 
kinds,  185,  186;  itinerating  with  tents,  186- 
193  ;  preparation  for  it,  186 ;  the  caravan, 
186;  the  journey,  186,  187;  the  encampment, 
187-189,  225  ;  the  tents,  188  :  encampment  at 
night,  188,  189;  supplies,  189,  190,  227;  itin- 
erating without  tents,  192,  193 ;  with  boats, 
193  ;  results  of  intineration,  and  its  excellences, 
193,  195;  period  of  itineration,  186,  193;  sec- 
ular work  connected  with   it,  142,  143;  ills.. 


Jackals:  met  in  itinerating,  187:  ills.,  65,  192. 

Jadjodh  Singh,  sardar  :  and  the  Sialkot  hospital, 
226. 

Jahangir's  tomb,  104. 

Jains  ;  their  number,  no  ;  tenets  and  character, 
113  ;  caste.  113,  116;  increasing,  352. 

Jalandhar  District :  occupied  by  Am.  Presby- 
terians, 98  ;  infant  death  r3te  of  its  males  and 
females,  i2S, 


TOPICAL    INDEX 


399 


Jamadar,  a  petty  officer  :  arrests  Rura,  235. 

Jamu  City  :  railway  to,  76. 

Jamil  territory ;  not  assigned  in  a  Mission  set- 
tlement, lOI. 

Janvier,  Rev.  L.  :  his  aid  in  translating  the  Pun- 
jabi Bible,  302. 

Japan:  route  via,  17;  its  self-supportirrg 
churches,  311  ;  their  independence,  312;  allu- 
sions, 23,  364. 

Jawala  :  monitor  of  the  Institute,  284. 

Jebel  Atakah,  on  the  Red  Sea,  14. 

Jerome,  a  fakir,  206. 

Jersey  City,  286. 

Jessup,  Dr.  :  his  oratory,  366. 

Jewelry:  worn  by  many,  no;  in  zenanas,  177; 
ills.,  174,  228,  325. 

Jeypore,  on  road  to  the  Punjab,  16. 

Jhang  :  described,  99,  193  ;  its  sparse  population, 
103  ;  connected  with  Sikhs,  104  :  Shiahs  there, 
121  ;  its  inlaid  work,  106;  occupied  by  U.  P. 
Mission,  99,  100;  allusion,  242. 

Jhelum  Cantonment,  31,  105. 

Jhelum  City;  its  census  of  males  and  females, 
128  ;  dispensary  and  hospital,  182  ;  convention 
at,  ills.,  298;  Mission  House,  ills.,  144: 
church,  zV/j.,  298  ;  book-shop,  157,  184;  Hindu 
and  Moslem  revolts,  176,  229  ;  Girls'  Schools, 
170,  172;  medical  work,  182;  Boys'  School, 
170 ;  allusion,  296. 

Jhelum  District  :  skirted  by  Jhang,  100 ;  its 
mountains,  46,  105;  salt,  57;  Shiahs,  121; 
Musallies,  246. 

Jhelum  Mission  District  :  includes  Bhera,  182  ; 
progress  there,  241,  386  ;  allusion,  242. 

Jhelum  river:  one  of  the  "five  rivers,"  98; 
same  as  the  Hydaspes,  T03  :  crossed  by  Alex- 
ander, 103  ;  borders  Rawal  Pindi,  102  ;  in 
Kashmir,   53;    in   Jhang,    193:    ills.,   36     86, 

357-  ,  t     T,    1 

Jilalpur,  where  Alexander  crossed  the  Jhelum, 103. 

Jiwan  Mai :  work  in  C.  T.  I.,  282. 

yogi,  a  species  of  Hindu  fakir,  321. 

Johnson,  Sophia  E.,  M.  D.  :  medical  work,  181, 

182  ;  opposition  to  her  dispensarj-  work,  229  ; 

at  a  serai,  ills.,  182;   on  higher  education  of 

Christians,  296  ;  her  loss  by  floods,  42. 
Journey  to  India.     See  America. 
Jubal  Sukr,  on  Red  Sea,  15. 
Jubal  Tur,  on  Red  Sea,  14. 
Judgeship,  a  prize,  29. 
Judges'  salary  in  the  Punjab,  324. 
Jugeernaut,  or  Jaganath,  ills.,  354. 
Jugglers  :  may  perform  in  bazars,  156. 
Jungle,  ills.,  161. 
Jutian:    described,    109,    no;    when   removed, 

264  ;  ills.,  342. 

Kabiraj  mentioned,  47. 

Kalnil  river,  a  branch  of  the  Indus,  98. 

Kachchlia.  ■](>. 

Kadian,  allusion  to,  201. 

Kafiristan  :  no  trouble  to  India,  21. 

Kaka's  happy  death,  256. 

Kala  Patthar,  black  rock,  152. 

Kalanaur:    Akbar    crowned   there,    104;    mela 

there,  160. 
Kalbadevi  Road,  Bombay,  ills.,  375. 
Kandahar,  19. 
Kangra  Valley  :  in  C.  M.  S.  field,  98  ;  its  tea  and 

rice,  51,  57. 
Kankar  described,  74,  75. 
Karachi  :    railway  to,  76;  routes  via,  10,  11,  15, 

16,  17,  18. 
Karens  :   alluded  to,  245  ;   their   self-supporting 

churches,  311. 

Karm  Bakhsh's  conversion,  242, 


Kashmir:  described,  53,  54;  in  C.  M.  S.  field, 
98;  reached  easiest  from  Murree,  102;  boats 
used  there,  193  ;  its  earthquakes,  43 ;  its 
tongue,  86  ;  medical  treatment  of  its  Maha- 
raja and  his  family,  48;  cholera  in  1892,  54; 
summer  capital,  Srinagar,  ills.,  36;  on  a  lake 
in  Kashmir,  z7/j.,  55;  the  Jhelum  river  there, 
36,  86,  357  ;    boats,  bridges,  houses,  ills.,  36, 

357- 

Khaji's  faithfulness  to  her  children,  255. 

Khajiar  lake,  near  Dalhousie..  52. 

Khaki,  or  dust-colored,  garments,  56. 

Khalsa,  a  Sikh  Council,  113. 

Khargosh,  hares,  ills.,  254. 

Khasis,  alluded  to,  245. 

Khatola,  ills.,  49. 

Khatriyas  :    at  dispensaries,  181  ;  allusion,  245. 

Khewra  :   bazar  preaching  there,  90. 

Khiva  fell  in  1873,  23. 

Khojak  tunnel  described,  19. 

Khokand  annexed,  23. 

AVr/zrtr/ described,  58. 

Killcn's  "  Ancient  Church  "  translated,  307. 

Kingdom  of  heaven  :  recognized  specially  by 
missionaries,  368,  371. 

Kipling,  Ruclyard  ;  his  stories  of  India  life,  124, 
125. 

Kirkhian,  windows,  ills.,  144,  368. 

Kizl  Arvat  :    taken,  23  ;  railway  to,  19. 

Knowles,  Rev.  S.,  his  success  at  melas,  161. 

Kohat  War,  22. 

Kols,  alluded  to,  245. 

Koran:  as  viewed  by  Moslems,  115:  com- 
mitted by  maulvies,  117  ;  against  strong  drink, 
122  ;  against  usury,  123  ;  quoted  at  bazar 
preaching,  157,  158. 

Kotgarh,  beyond  Simla,  53. 

Kotla,  shrines  at,  353. 

Koweit,  on  Euphrates  route,  17. 

Krasnovodsk,  occupied,  23. 

Krishna  :   his  images  common,  in. 

Kulu  :   trip  through,  53,  54. 

Kunal  Patthar,  a  peak  at  Dharmsala,  51. 

Kursi  :  defined,  177  ;   ills.,  ■^g. 

Kuria :  described,  109,  no;  ills.,  124,  184, 
228. 

Kwaja  Amran  Mountains,  on  road  to  Kandahar, 
19. 

Ladakh  occupied  by  Moravians,  99. 

Laddha:  at  Ramnagar,  234. 

Ladies'  Association  of  the  Church  of  Scotland, 
279,  284. 

Lady  DufFerin  scheme  and  fund,  72,  179. 

Lady  missionaries  :  their  rights  and  powers  in 
the  Mission,  131, 132  ;  work,  174-183,  272  ;  pub- 
lic discourses,  150,  178,  179  ;  house  in  Jhelum, 
ills.,  144;  how' work  affects  their  piety,  378. 
See  Women,  Zenana  and  Medical. 

Lahore ;  capital  of  the  Punjab,  30 ;  to  London, 
18  ;  route  via,  16.  18,  20. 

Lahore  Christian  College  :  its  Christian  students, 
169;  excellent  character,  173. 

Lahore  District  :  its  roads  and  railways,  75,  76 ; 
in  Amer.  Pres.  Mission,  98  ;  allusions,  28,  104, 
325. 

Lahul:  Buddhists,  there,  n4  ;  occupied  by  Mo- 
ravians, 90. 

Laka,  near  Dharmsala,  52. 

Lai  Beg.     ^te.  Bala  Shah. 

Lala  Musa  and  the  Sind  Sagar  railway,  76 
lusion,  i=;2. 

Lamhardar :  described,  189:  lower  than  3 
Zaildar,  226 ;  sometimes  indifferent  to  misson' 
aries,  igi. 

Land  laws  in  India,  143. 


al- 


400 


TOPICAL   INDEX 


Land  purchasing.     See  Real  Estate. 

Landaur:  described,  52,  53. 

Langoti :  described,  log  ;  ilh.,  155,  187,  214,  277, 

325. 
Language:  acquisition  of,  86.-88,  136,  140  ;  easily 
acquired  by  Europeans  or  not,  292  ;  a  foreign 
language  unfavorable  to  devotion,  369,  370. 
Languages  of  India,  85  ;  their  study,  86-88,  136, 

140. 
Lansdowne,  Marquis  of:  his  viceroyalty,  32,  33  ; 

portrait,  33. 
Lansing,  Dr. :  his  eloquence,  366. 
Lawsuits,  as  means   of  persecution,   226.      See 

Hindrances. 
Lay  missionaries,  male,  146. 
Learning  of  missionaries,  365-367. 
Leaven  like  influence  of  the  gospel,  195,  196. 
Legislation  in,  and  for,  India,  28,  29. 
Leipzig  Mission,  97. 
Leopard  :  ills. ,  230. 

Leprosy  piop.Tgated  by  vaccination,  47. 
Liberality  of  Hindus  and  Moslems,  321,  322. 
Liberality  of  missionaries,  289,  377. 
Liberality   of  native  Cbristians  :   instances,    314, 
315,   253,   255  ;     hindered    by    Mission   policy, 
319,  320;  further  increase  possible,  319;    the 
tithe  system,   320-322  ;    hov/  to  be  increased, 
328-330:  efforts  made  and  success,  314,  315; 
liberality  of  the  Ludhiana  Mission  and  the  C. 
M.  S.,  331  ;    of  M.  E.  native  church  and  the 
Congregational,   332  ;    how    affected    by    the 
grant  of  authority  to  natives,  348,  349. 
Liberty  of  Christians  in  India  less  than  that  of 

other  sects,  38, 
Licentiate  :  defined,  340  ;  his  duties,  272. 
Lieut. -Governors:  their  position  and  salary,  29, 

30  :  of  the  Punjab,  33,  34  ;  their  tours,  234. 
Likar's  Christian  walk,  255,  256. 
Lingaz.nA  Vouni,  iii. 

Linguistic  conditions  in  India,  Chapter  IX. 
Linguistic  hindrances  to  work,  218. 
Liquor  trade  in  India,  38,  39. 
Literature  :  as  an  evangelistic  agency,  184,  185  ; 
used  in  lower  training,  273,  274  ;  its  forms,  184  ; 
its   languages,  184  ;  its  sources,  185  ;    that  of 
the  Sialkot  Mission,  and  Presbytery,  130,  185, 
307 ;   a  secular  burden,    146 ;  co-operation  in 
producing,  92,  93  ;  in  the  vernaculars  of  India 
described,  300-309. 
Lithographing  used  in  India,  268,  269. 
Liver  complaint  in  India,  46. 
Liverpool:    to  India,  9-15  ;   its  sights,  13;    allu- 
sion, 9. 
Living   in  India  ;  different  modes  of,  204,  205  ; 
modes  adopted  by  Christian  workers  and  mis- 
sionaries, 205,  319. 
Lizards  :   in  houses,  58  ;  ills. ,  104. 
Locusts,  ills.,  139. 

London:  excursion  to,  13;  to  India,  9-20. 
London  Missionary  Society  :  enters   India,  94  ; 
fields,  97;    methods  of  work,  212;  in  Mada- 
gascar, 311  ;  allusion,  300. 
London  'limes.     See  Times. 
Longevity  :    of  natives   of    India,   44 ;    of  mis- 
sionaries, 364,  365,  385. 
Lord's  Prayer:  to  be  committed  before  baptism, 

219,  220. 
Lord's   Supper :    how   dispensed   in  the  U.   P. 

field,  266  ;  by  whom  dispensed,  273. 
Lota.,  a  round  drinking  vessel,  ills.,  65,  106. 
Low-caste  people.     See  Castes,  Loin. 
Lower   Primary  School   Standard,  defined,  164, 
267  ;     referred    to,    284,    294.       See    Primary 
Schools. 
Lucas,  Rev.  J  J.,  D.  D. :  article  on  Bible  Trans- 
lation, 301,  ' 


Lucknow  printing,  306,  324;  its  S.  S.  literature, 
92. 

Ludhiana  occupied,  98. 

Ludhiana  Mission :  name,  whence  derived,  131 ; 
its  Semi-Ccntennial,  98;  its  industrial  work, 
324,  its  liberality,  331  ;  its  policy  regarding  na- 
tives, 346;  its  printing  press,  306.  See  Amer- 
ican Presbyterian  Mission. 

Lull  :  described,  41  ;  referred  to,  372. 

Lushai  uprisings,  22. 

Luther  :  used  as  an  illustration,  175  ;  his  Bible, 
302. 

Lutheran  Missions,  07,  384,  385. 

Lyall,  Sir  James  :  character  as  Lieut. -Governor, 

34- 
Lyric  poetry  of  India,  304 
Lytle,  Rev   D.  S.  :  his  relation  to  the  Persian 

Punjabi  N.  T.,  302  ;  work  on  the  Psalms,  304; 

experience   with    an   enquirer,   203 ;    building 

work,  144. 
Lytton,    Lord  :   character  and  viceroyalty,  31 ; 

abolishes  the  law  of  the  Sabbath,  38. 

McCahon,  Miss  E.  L.  :  founds  the  Girls'  Board- 
ing School,  284;  had  charge,  286  ;  her  Short 
Catechism,  306 ;  her  work  in  the  Institute, 
282. 

McCheyne:  his  habits  of  devotion,  369. 

McCuUough,  Miss  R.  A.  :  her  testimony  regard- 
ing Badoki,  254;  alluded  to,  258. 

McDowell's  Compend  of  Theology,  translated, 
307. 

McKee,  Rev.  J.  P.,  D.D.  :  Sup't  Gujranwala 
High  Scliool,  172  ;  Sup't  C.  T.  Institute,  282; 
Prof,  in  the  Theological  Seminary,  289  ;  testi- 
mony about  the  higher  education  of  Chris- 
tians, 296  ;  experience  with  an  enquirer,  203; 
departure  from  India,  289.' 

McKee,  Mrs.  J.  P.  :  work  in  the  Institute,  282. 

McLeod  Ganj  at  Dharmsala,  51. 

Madagascar  :  its  fine  missions,  with  statistics, 
311  ;  their  dependence  on  foreign  aid,  311,  313. 

Madhopur  :  Ravi  river  at,  105. 

Madras  City  :  a  possible  port  for  missionaries, 
17;  route  ziia,  10. 

Madras  Presidency:  powers  of  its  governor,  28; 
his  salarj',  30 ;  its  civil  service,  29  ;  increase  of 
Christians  there,  351,  384,  385;  education  in, 
121,  122,  169;  Bible  distribution  there,  301; 
statistics  of  its  missions,  384,  385. 

Madras  University,  163,  164. 

Madura:  Bible  distribution  there,  301. 

Magic  Lantern  :  its  use  in  missions,  156. 

Mahabharat  mentions  Jhelum,  103. 

Mahadeva  :  on  the  hills,  in. 

Mahalla :  defined,  159;  preaching,  158,  159. 

Mahars,  a  low  caste,  245. 

Mahavira,  a  Jain  saint,  113. 

Mahdi :  excitement  about,  22. 

Mahratta  self-sustaining  churches,  311. 

Mails  :  foreign  and  domestic,  63  ;  used  in  mission 
work,  273;  mails  for  a  camp  in  itineration,  190. 
See  Postal  Se7-z'ice. 

Makhsan-i-Mosihi  :  a  help  in  mission  work,  92  ; 
quoted,  215. 

Malabar  Hill,  Bombay,  visited,  15. 

^Ia!aysian  M.  E.  Missions,  with  statistics,  241. 

Malta  :  passed  on  the  way  to  India,  13. 

Manipur  rebellion,  22. 

Manu:  his  caste  rules,  354. 

Manual  of  Foreign  Board  and  Mission,  131,  132. 

Map  :  of  The  Heart  of  the  Punjab  and  the  U.  P. 
^Iission,  opposite  title  page;  of  routes  to 
India,  10;  of  India  Missions,  97. 

Marali ;  beginning  of  mission  work  there,  242. 

Marathi  tongue,  a  branch  of  the  Sanskrit,  85. 


TOPICAL    INDEX 


401 


Marriage  :  eight  kinds  among  Hindus,  125  ;  with- 
in caste  hnes,  224;  associated  with  reiigior.s 
rites,  112;  among  Moslems,  125;  nuptial  din- 
ners, 66;  marriage  processions,  187;  early 
marriage  interferes  with  education,  287  ;  mar- 
riage reform,  355  ;  marriage  or  celibacy  among 
missionaries,  212.     See  Divorce. 

Married  lady  missionaries :  their  work  and  in- 
fluence, 150,  177,  192,  2S2,  &c. 

IMarseilles :  a  port  used  in  going  to  India,  9. 

Martin,  Miss  Dora:  her  visit  to  India,  65. 

Martin,  Rev.  J.  H.  :  his  sister's  visit,  65. 

Martin,  Rev.  S.,  D.  D.  :  Prof,  in  Theo.  Semi- 
nary, 289  ;  chairman  of  the  Psalm  Committee, 
303;  translates  "Brief  Evidences,"  185;  also 
Brown's  "Explication,"  307;  his  catechism, 
306;  quoted  on  drawbacks  to  higher  education, 

Martin,  Mrs.  S  :  quoted  on  annoyances  in  itin- 
erating, 192 ;  and  on  the  open  door  among 
Chuhras,  246,  247. 

Martyn,  Rev.  Henry  :  his  translation  of  the  New 
Testament,  300;  reference  to  his  life,  301. 

Martyrs  in  India  :  now  rare,  but  a  few,  236. 

Mary  Anna's  portrait,  177. 

Masadi,  our  agent  at  Dharmsala,  50. 

Masjids,  or  mosques,  described,  116. 

Matthew  28  :  18-20 :  quoted,  374 ;  its  teaching  on 
baptism,  262. 

Maturity  of  mission  churches  :  its  rarity,  311, 
312;  discussed,  Chapters  XXVI,  XXVII  and 
XXVin — see  Contents.  See  also  under 
Church  and  Ecclesiastical. 

Maulu,  of  Chimma,  persecutes  Rura,  236. 

Maulvi  :  defined,  117;  sometimes  rabid,  152; 
his  wordly  wants,  319. 

Mausoleum  of  Ranjit  Singh's  father  at  Gujran- 
wala,  104. 

Maxwell,  Mrs.  E.  B.  ;  her  writing,  367. 

Mazhabi  Sikhs  ;  described,  113,  246. 

Meals  of  missionaries  described,  57,  58. 

Meats  of  the  Punjab,  57 ;  also  imported,  57. 
See  under  Game. 

Mediaeval  Missions  :  different  from  modern,  243. 

Medical  classes  :  utilized  in  training  Christian 
girls,  294;  allusion,  278. 

Medical  Missionary  Record:  statistics  from, 
quoted,  179. 

Medical  Missionary  work  :  of  missionaries  gen- 
erally, 145,  179;  of  medical  missionaries  par- 
ticularly, 145,  146;  of  native  helpers,  146;  its 
methods,  179-183;  sustained  by  fees,  iSi  ;  by 
grants-in-aid,  i8t ;  by  subscriptions,  i8i  ;  aided 
indirectly  by  the  Lady  Dufferin  Scheme,  72  ; 
arguments  in  favor  of  it,  180,  181  ;  a  good 
pioneer  agency,  181  ;  supported  by  Christ's  ex- 
ample, 181  ;  objections  to  it,  180,  181  ;  secular, 
in  it,  145,  146;  difficulties,  229;  medical  work 
in  the  Sialkot  Mission,  181-183  ;  st.Ttistics,  179, 
i8i,  182;  spiritual  results,  182,  183. 

Medical  Science  in  India  :  its  history,  47,  48. 

Mediterranean  Sea  :  traversed  by  India  mission- 
aries, 10,  13,  17. 

Meerut :  route  via,  16. 

Megasthenes  speaks  of  the  Indus,  103. 

Megs  (weavers),  a  low  caste.  117;  Christian 
movement  among,  at  Zafarwal,  242,  325; 
Piyara,  a  Meg,  233 ;  Cheddu,  a  Meg,  234  ;  allu- 
sion, 220. 

Mela,  defined,  160. 

Mela  preaching  :  described,  160,  i6i  ;  its  value, 
160,  i6i  ;  co-operation  in,  90. 

Melas,  Christian:  described,  274;  their  value, 
274  ;   an  example,  274. 

Melas  :  Hindu,  of  U.  P.  field,  160  ;  one  at  Hard- 
war,  ills.,  159  ;  alluded  to,  161,  174. 

20 


Memorial  Hospital,  Sialkot.  See  IVomen's 
Memorial  Hospital. 

Memorial  of  missionaries  to  the  General  As- 
sembly, 69. 

Memorial  uf  native  ministers  to  the  General  As- 
sembly :  its  character  and  purport,  344,  347, 
348  ;   its  results,  138,  347. 

Mem-sakiba  ;  defined,  150;  her  work,  150,*  177, 
192,  282,  &c. 

Merchants  of  the  Punjab,  Parsees,  115. 

Merve  :   taken,  23  ;   railway  to,  19. 

Messageries  Line  of  Steamers,  11. 

Messenger,  quoted  on  declining  Hinduism,  35';. 

Meter:  the  kind  used  in  India  version  of  the 
Psalms,  303  ;  Oriental  and  Occidental,  com- 
pared, 304. 

Methodist  Camp  Meeting  referred  to,  274. 

M.  E.  Church  :  its  scheme  of  study  for  ministers, 
297,  298. 

M.  E.  Church  in  India:  its  fields,  97;  in  the 
Punjab,  99;  its  liberality,  332;  the  power  it 
gives  natives,  346,  347;  its  progress  and 
statistics,  241  ;  baptism  at  melas,  161  ;  its 
printing  at  Lucknow,  306,  308,  324  ;  its  S.  S. 
literature,  92  ;  its  newspapers,  92  ;  salary  of  its 
missionaries,  62. 

Methodist  (Free)  Mission.  97. 

Methodist  Tltnes :  on  Dr.  Duff's  educational 
policy,  162  ;  on  the  influence  of  a  missionary 
home,  216. 

Methodists,  Wesleyan  :  their  fields  in  India,  97; 
salary  of  the  missionaries,  62  ;  their  chaplains, 
36. 

Methodists  of  all  k:nds  in  India  :  statistics,  384, 
385  ;   their  testimony  bearing,  197. 

Methods  of  Evangelization.  See  Ez'angelistic 
Work. 

Mexico  :  Bible  distribution  there,  301. 

Miani :  description  of  a  house  there,  176. 

Michaelovsk  :  founded,  23  :  railway  to,  19. 

Middle  School  Grade,  or  Department  :  defined, 

292,  342,  317,  339  ;  standard  for  the  lower 
grade  of  U.  P.  ministry,  339,  342 ;  number 
passed  in  our  field,  294  ;  till  lately  the  highest 
grade  of  the  C.  T.  Institute,  297  ;  no  provision 
till  recently  for  the  training  of  Christians 
higher  than  this  in  U.  P.  Mission,  296. 

Rlihtar  :  a  sweeper  of  the  Chuhra  caste,  60. 

Mildmay  Park  Association  of  Female  Workers, 
90. 

Military  of  India.     See  Army. 

Military  Service  for  native  Christians  discussed, 
325,  326. 

Ministers,  Native,  in  India  generally  :  number 
and  increase,  351,  352,  384,  385  ;  called  pad- 
ries,  233  ;  an  important  force  in  converting 
India,  87,  358  ;  their  special  work  at  present, 
196,  271,  272,  317;  their  thorough  education 
desirable,  292,  293,  317,  331 ;  should  know  the 
original  languages  of  Scripture,  290-292 ; 
qualifications  for  ordination,  339;  should  be 
educated  by  each  Mission  for  its  own  work, 
278  ;  their  salaries  regulated  by  supply  and  de- 
mand, 317,  318;  combination  to  force  down 
their  salary  improper,  319  ;  a  just  standard  of 
salary,  323;  their  present  style  of  living,  205, 
319;  their  social  customs,  66;  their  inter- 
course with  missionaries,  66,  67  :  charges  and 
countercharges,  297,  342-344.  See  also  next 
subject. 

Ministers,  Native,  of  the  U.  P.  Mission  :  their 
two  grades,  lower  and  evangelistic.  297,  339  ; 
not  many  of  the  latter  needed,  339,  but  some, 
297  ;  standard  of  the  former,  292,  342  ;  of  the 
latter  317  ;   a  good  education  desirable,  292, 

293,  317,  331  ;  should  know  Greek  and  Hebrew, 


402 


TOPICAL    INDEX 


Ministers,  Native,  of  U.  P.  Mission — Continued. 
290-292;  provision  for  their  theological  training, 
288-293  ;  training  through  church  courts,  298- 
300  ;  their  fewness,  338,  339  ;  causes  of  the 
paucity,  339,  340;  their  salaries,  315,  316; 
style  of  living,  65,  66,  205,  319 ;  social  customs, 
66;  intercourse  with  missionaries,  66,  67; 
special  work,  196,  271,  272,  317  ;  relation  to 
missionaries,  67,  138,  139  ;  complaints  against 
missionaries  and  vice  versa,  297,  342-344  ;  gen- 
eral qualifications,  340-342  ;  should  have  more 
power  and  independence,  340-349.  See  also 
last  subject. 

Miracles  of  Christ :   their  object,  181. 

Mirage^;,  seen  in  itinerating,  187. 

Mirza  Gulam  Ahmed  :   debate  with,  199,  201. 

Mirzapur ;  publications  at,  308  ;  its  Bible  a 
standard,  300. 

Mission  Churches.  See  Church  in  Mission 
La  nds. 

Mission  Districts  of  U.  P.  field  :  named,  386  ; 
defined,  Map,  opp.  title  page  ;  statistics,  241, 
386;  progress  in,  341,  342;  arrangements  for, 
270,  278. 

Mission  Life  :  its  character  and  eflfcct  on  mission- 
aries.    See  Missionaries. 

Mission  Policy.     See  under  Policy. 

Mission,  U.  P.  See  United  Presbyterian  Mis- 
sion. 

Mission  work  :  its  drain  on  the  nervous  system, 
363  ;  its  stages,  148,  149,  261  ;  its  methods, 
See  under  Evang^elistic  Work,  Training, 
&c.  ;  see  also  Missions,  Foreign. 

Missionaries  to  India  :  the  stimulus  received  from 
their  call,  374  ;  qualifications  desired,  378-380  ; 
training  needed,  299  ;  truly  apostles,  374,  375  ; 
journey  to  India,  Chapter  I — see  Contents ; 
travel  by  steamer.  11  ;  by  rail,  11,  12  ;  number 
ordained  in  India,  and  their  increase,  95,  351, 
352,  384,  385  ;  proportion  to  the  field,  95;  their 
nationality,  385 ;  number  in  U.  P.  field, 
386;  not  generally  independent,  129;  their 
training  in  the  Mission,  136;  acquiring  foreign 
tongues,  86-88,  140;  study  of  the  people,  141; 
their  salary,  61-63,  215,216;  some  honorary, 
212  ;  modes  of  living,  205  ;  domestic  conditions. 
Chapter  VI — see  Contents;  houses  and  furni- 
ture, 55,  56;  dress,  56,  57,  table  and  food,  58  ; 
sometimes  get  game,  190;  modes  of  travel. 
Chapter  Vlll — see  Contents;  relation  to  the 
government,  36,  37;  fears  from  without,  25,  27, 
35 ;  liability  to  disease.  Chapter  V — see  Con- 
tents, also  364;  sacrifices  and  burdens,  58-61, 
192,  193,  212;  recreations,  48-54,63-65;  inter- 
course with  officials,  57,  63,  64;  with  travelers, 
64,  65;  with  native  Christians,  66,  67;  with 
fellow  missionaries,  137,  376;  shrink  from 
fashionable  society,  57 ;  under  the  Mission, 
134;  but  have  much  freedom,  137,  138;  their 
secular  work.  Chapter  XIV,  372,  373  ;  their  re- 
lation to  evangelism,  196;  to  work  among 
Christians,  196,  272,  273  ;  educationalists,  165  ; 
encouragements  and  supports,  374-37B;  dis- 
couragements, 373;  conflicts,  373;  authority 
over  natives,  66,  67,  138,  139  ;  co-operation 
with  them,  299  ;  sahibs,  341 ;  relation  to  church 
courts,  130,  299 ;  complaints  against  native 
workers  and  vice  versa,  297,  342-344 ;  cannot 
often  tell  their  own  converts,  153,  154;  their 
studies,  English,  eloquence  and  intellectual 
growth,  365-367  ;  their  attachment  to  home  and 
the  foreign  land,  367,  368 ;  their  mistakes, 
weakness  and  imperfection,  220,  275,  299; 
temper  affected  by  climate,  368,  369  ;  obstruc- 
tions to  their  growth  in  grace,  368-374  ;  helps 
to  their  spiritual  advancement,  374-378  ;  their 


Missionaries  to  India — Continued. 

fraternal  feeling,  376;  unworldliness,  377; 
liberality,  377;  piety  summed  up,  378;  differ- 
ence between  them  and  home  ministers,  370, 
373;  how  viewed  by  outsiders  in  India,  237, 
238 ;  their  need  of  vacations  and  furloughs, 
48-54,  371,  372:  love  to  return  to  their  field, 
378  ;  comparative  mortality,  48,  50,  362-365, 
385  ;  length  of  service,  364,  365,  385  ;  their  re- 
tirement, 62,  63,  368  ;  their  children's  Homes, 
61. 

Missionary  spirit  :  its  history  and  propagation, 
380,  381. 

Missions  :  their  high  aim,  148  ;  the  great  work  of 
the  church,  380-382. 

Missions,  Foreign  :  their  necessity  and  aim,  148, 
363  ;  their  importance,  374,  375 ;  what  tasks 
they  undertake,  148,  149,  261  ;  their  organized 
methods.  Chapter  XIII  :  their  complicated 
and  sometimes  autocratic  machinery,  273 ; 
their  reflex  influence.  Chapter  XXX — see 
Contents;  their  effect  on  Home  Missions  and 
vice  7iersa,  380-382  ;  evils  of  encroachment  on 
one  another's  field,  89,  220,  358.  See  Mis- 
sions in  India,  &c. 

Missions,  Home:  their  relation  to  foreign  mis- 
sions, 380-382. 

Missions,  in  India:  their  necessity,  128;  their 
history,  94-97;  have  separate  fields,  95-97; 
map,  97;  sometimes  clash,  89,220,358;  their 
methods  of  evangelism.  Chapters  XV — XX 
— see  Contents  ;  of  training  Christians,  Chap- 
ters XXIII — XXV — see  Contents  ;  their  pro- 
gress, 238-248,  351,  352,  384,  385  ;  how  viewed 
by  outsiders,  237,  238 ;  converts  mostly  from 
the  depressed  classes,  243,  245  ;  compared  with 
missions  of  the  Ancient  and  Mediaeval  church, 
243  ;  compared  with  Roman  Catholic,  214,  215  ; 
their  social  and  political  influence,  37,  237, 
238  ;  dangers  confronting  them,  356-358  ;  their 
policy,  see  Policy;  their  outlook,  see  Out- 
look; for  particular  Missions,  see  elsewhere. 

Missions,  Punjab  ;  97-103,  241,  351,  384,  385,  also 
map  opposite  title  page. 

Miss-Sahiba,  or  unmarried  lady,  177. 

Misiari,  a  skilled  artisan,  280. 

Mithi  zuban  (a  sweet  tongue),  applied  to  the 
Punjabi,  86. 

Mochies  (shoemakers),  a  low  caste,  117. 

Model  School,  in  C.  T.  I.  ;   282. 

Mofht's  Church  History,  in  Urdu,  307. 

Mohammerah,  or  Euphrates  route,  18. 

Mohanwala  farmers  threaten  Christians,  236. 

Monasticism,  condemned  by  its  history,  210. 

Money,  as  a  basis  of  church  authority,  348. 

Money-lender's  oppression,  37,  38,  84,  127.  See 
under  Banya. 

Mongol  invasion  of  India,  27.     See  also  Mughal. 

Mongolians  in  India,  107. 

Monkeys  :  at  Dharmsala,  52  ;  ills.,  85,  141. 

Monsoons,  15,  40. 

Monthly  meetings  of  workers,  described,  273,  298. 

Moody  :  classed  as  a  fakir,  206. 

Morals  :  of  outcastes,  248  ;  of  Indian  people  gen- 
erally, 123-128  ;  of  fakirs,  205  ;  of  native  Chris- 
tians, 252.  253;  of  native  mmistry,  340;  of 
Anglo-Indians,  123-125  ;  public  morals,  33,  38, 
39,  218,  219  ;  good  morals  an  aid  to  evangelism, 
196,  197. 

Moravian  Missions  in  India,  97  ;  in  the  Punjab, 
99. 

Morgan,  Miss  :  at  Bhera,  182. 

Morrison,  J.  H.,  D.  D.  :  founds  the  Mission  at 
Rawal  Pindi,  102. 

Morrison,  Rev.  Robert :  son  of  former,  at  sanje 
place,  102. 


TOPICAL    INDEX 


403 


Morrison,  Robert,  D.  D.  :  his  experience  in 
China,  215. 

Mortality  :  great  in  India,  44,  its  causes,  44 ;  in 
Punjab,  44-50;  of  foreigners  compared  with 
natives,  44-50  ;  of  missionaries,  48,  50,  362-365, 
385- 

Moses,  Wells  of:  seen,  14. 

Moslems  :     See  Muhaviiiuidans. 

Moths,  in  wardrobes,  58. 

Moti,  mentioned,  233. 

Mounds  of  extinct  cities,  105. 

Mountain  family,  ills.,  52. 

Mountaineers  in  action,  ills.,  26. 

Mountains:  of  Jhelum,  40,  105;  of  Dharmsala, 
51.  52;  of  Kashmir,  53;  of  the  Punjab  gener- 
ally, q8  ;  ills.,  49,  50,  52,  100,  283. 

Mughal  dynasty,  115,  116;  its  connection  with 
U.  P.  field.  104. 

Muhammad,  as  viewed  by  Moslems,  115;  a 
polygamist.  125  ;  his  red  beard,  120. 

Muhammad  Ghori  :  at  Sialkot,  104. 

Muhammad  Husain  and  his  relatives,  236. 

Muhammadan  :  architecture  in  India,  116; 
ills.,  329  ;  doctors,  or  hakims,  47,  48  ;  fakirs, 
204,209;  farmers,  243  ;  fasts  and  feasts,  116, 
117,  266;  inquirers,  203  ;  invasions  of  the  Pun- 
jab, 27,  103;  ladies,  177,  see  Begums;  revolt 
against  mission  work  in  Jhelum,  229  ;  rule  in 
India,  115,  116;  towns,  log  ;  zenanas,  176,  229. 
See  Muhammadanism  and  Mtihaiiiinadans . 

Muhammadanism;  in  India,  115-118,  122  ;  among 
the  low  castes,  118;  influenced  by  Hinduism, 
116,  123,  356,  357  ;  proselytes  to  and  from,  352, 
353  ;  converts  from,  231,  235,  236,  244  ;  such 
converts  helpless,  275.  See  Muhammadan 
and  Muhatmnadans . 

Muhammadans  :  described,  115-118  ;  their  num- 
ber, no,  lis,  116;  number  increasing,  352; 
quarter  in  towns,  159;  clothing,  no,  120,  121  ; 
names,  121  ;  favorite  tongue,  85,  86;  political 
opposition  to  the  Sikhs,  112,  113;  education, 
121,  122;  teachers  in  our  schools,  286;  sects, 

121  ;  caste,  116  ;  in  Civil  Service,  325  ;  histor- 
ical traces  in  our  field,  104 ;  habits  and  rules  in 
prayer,  116,  150,  151,  265,  ills.,  117;  ablutions, 

122  ;  temperance,  122  ;  abstinence  from  usury, 
123;  liberality,  321,  322  ;  morals,  68,  122-128; 
view  of  women,  68,  125,  126;  fanaticism,  246  ; 
persecuting  spirit,  126,  225,  226,  231,  235;  ex- 
cited by  rise  of  the  Mahdi,  22;  controversial 
character,  157,158,  199,  201,  227;  don't  mix 
with  Hindus,  228;  hate  them,  117  ;  opposition 
to  Christianity,  225,  226,  231-233,  235;  contro- 
versy at  Amritsar,  199,  201  ;  in  bazar  preach- 
>"gi  157.  158  ;  found  in  our  village  schools,  105, 
267;  and  at  dispensaries,  181;  no  remarkable 
work  among,  245;  clannish,  326;  allusions, 
113,  170,  231,  247,  3H1.  See  also  the  two  pre- 
ceding topics  and  Islam. 

Muharram,  a  great  Moslem  holiday  and  month, 

"7- 

Mukarji,  Miss  :  her  girls'  schools,  172. 

Multan  :  occupied  by  the  C.  M.  S.,  98. 

Municipal  Committees,  29  ;  help  medical  work, 
73,  i8i. 

Murder.     See  Crime. 

Murray,  Rev.  D.  A.  :  visits  India,  65. 

Murray,  Mrs.  :  her  testimony  about  Ameera, 
258. 

Murree :  described,  52,  54,  75 ;  in  U.  P.  field, 
102  ;  cholera  at,  46,  54  ;  ills.,  56. 

Alusallies  of  Jhelum,  246. 

Music  :  an  attraction  in  mission  work,  156 ;  tal- 
ent of  Indian  people  for,  108. 

Music,  Oriental  :  described,  304,  305  ;  ills.,  200, 
305.     See  Bhajans. 


Mussoorie  :  described.  52,  53;  54. 
Mutiny  :  in  U.  P.  field,  105. 

Nanak.     See  Baba  Nanak. 

Nanak's  marriage,  258. 

Nanga  Parbat,  a  peak  in  Kashmir,  53. 

Naples,  on  route  to  India,  n. 

Narowal  Mission  :  boundary  settled,  101,  102. 

Nastaltq,  running-hand,  268. 

Native  Christians.  See  under  Converts  and 
Christians . 

Native  Church.     See  Church  in  India. 

Native  employees  and  helpers.  Sec  Workers, 
Native. 

Native  ministers.     See  Ministry,  Native. 

Native  modes  of  living.     See  Living. 

Native  States  :  of  India,  28  ;  of  the  Punjab,  98. 

Natives  of  India:  described.  Chapter  XII — see 
Contents;  houses  and  towns,  108,  109,  263; 
race  and  physical  traits,  107  ;  peculiar  talents, 
107,  108;  wages  and  poverty,  109,  no,  123, 
263  ;  style  of  living,  109,  204,  205,  263;  dress, 
109,  no,  113,  120,  121,  263  ;  food,  109  ;  religion, 
109-128  ;  proportion  of  different  sects  in  India, 
and  in  the  Punjab,  no,  119-121  ;  their  good 
traits,  122,  123  ;  religions,  151,  152;  their  bad 
traits,  123-128  ;  what  the  Oude  Akhbar  says, 
123,  124  ;  their  illiteracy,  165  ;  character  to  be 
studied  by  missionaries,  141  ;  illustrations  on 
many  pages.  See  also  Orientals,  Hindus, 
Muhammadans,  &c. 

Natural  religion  :  danger  from,  356. 

Naya  Pind,  near  Zafarwal,  234. 

Necklaces,  ills.,  124. 

Neighbor  missionaries :  their  unfavorable  atti- 
tude and  influence,  89,  219,  220  ;  favorable,  89- 
93.     See  Chapter  X — Contents. 

Neighbors,  political:  their  effect  on  Missions, 
Chapter  II — see  Contents. 

Neolas  in  houses,  58  ;  ills.,  379. 

Nepal:  home  of  the  Gurkhas,  107. 

Nerves:  how  affected  by  sympathy,  overwork 
and  worry,  363,  364. 

Nests  of  birds,  ills.,  93,  261,  350. 

"  New  India  " :  what  it  aspires  to,  358,  359  ;  its 
view  of  Missions,  360. 

New  Jersey  :  compared  with  the  Punjab,  96. 

New  Testament  against  asceticism,  209. 

New  York  City:  a  point  of  departure,  9,  10, 
12. 

New  York  State:  compared  with  the  Punjab, 
96  ;   with  the  U.  P.  Mission,  103. 

Newmarch,  Col.  G.  :  helps  in  building  the  Insti- 
tute, 280. 

News  from  home  much  looked  for,  63. 

Newspapers  :  used  in  Mission  work,  92,  306. 

Newspapers,  secular:  received  and  read,  63, 
366. 

Newton,  Rev.  C.  B.,  D.  D.,  quoted  on  Gugga 
gana,  118.  119. 

Newton,  Rev.  John,  D.  D.,  his  Punjabi  version 
of  the  Bible,  302. 

Nicaea  :  place  of  Alexander's  victory,  103. 

Nineteenth  Century:  its  chief  Ecclesiastical 
feature,  380. 

Nirvana:  the  Hindu's  heaven,  126,  152. 

Normal  Class  in  the  Institute,  282. 

North  India  Conference  :  its  liberality,  332. 

North  India  Tract  Society's  publications,  308. 

N.  W.  Provinces  ;  Civil  Service,  29  ;  University, 
163,  164  ;   mission  progress,  351,  384,  385. 

N.  W.  Railway,  77. 

Northern  State  Railway,  76,  77. 

Nose  rings,  ills.,  228. 

Nur  Afshan  :  an  aid  to  us,  92,  306  ;  helped  by 


404 


TOPICAL    INDEX 


Obstructions  to  mission  work,  Chapter  XX — 
see  Contents.  See  also  under  Drawbacks, 
Persecution  and  Hindrances. 

Occidental  and  Oriental  Line  of  Steamers,  17. 

Occupation  of  a  field:  when  sufficient,  222.  See 
Comity. 

Ochotsk  :  reached  by  Russia,  23. 

Odessa,  on  the  Black  Sea,  20. 

Officers  in  a  temple,  ills.,  141. 

Official  News  Correspondence,  136. 

Officials  :  of  the  Government,  see  British  Rule  : 
of  a  village,  189,  190. 

Ohio  :  compared  with  the  Punjab,  96 ;  and  the 
U.  P.  Mission,  103. 

Omsk,  on  Siberian  R.  R.,  20. 

On  a  lake  in  Kashmir,  ills.,  55. 

O'Neil's  self-denial  and  the  result,  215. 

Opium-eating,  an  obstruction  to  Evangelism, 
222. 

Opium  trade  of  India,  33,  38,  39. 

Orbison,  Rev.  J.  H..  of  R.iwal  Pindi,  102. 

Ordained  agents  in  India.     See  Ministers. 

Ordination :  qualifications  for,  339.  See  also 
Ministers. 

Orenberg :  on  Siberian  railway,  20 ;  founded, 
23- 

Organization  for  mission  work,  Chapter  XIII; 
inter-mission,  90,  91. 

Organization  of  Churches.     See  under  Church. 

Oriental  Harbor,  ills.,  17. 

Oriental  Houses.  176.  See  also  Zenana  and 
Houses. 

Oriental  ways:  attractive  to  missionaries,  378. 

Orientals:  their  etiquette,  264  ;  their  genius,  2u8  ; 
essentially  religious,  151  ;  not  ashamed  to  talk 
on  religion,  131,  152.  See  also  Natives,  Hin- 
dus, Muhanimadans,  &c. 

Original  Secession  Mission,  97. 

Orphanage  of  Scotch  Mission,  279 ;  of  U.  P. 
Mission,  284,  285. 

Oude  :  its  Civil  Service,  29 ;  increase  of  Chris- 
tians there,  351  ;  statistics,  384,  385. 

Oudh  Akhhar  :  its  view  of  natives  and  Anglo- 
Indians,  123-125. 

Out-c.iste  people.     See  Castes,  Lo7u. 

Outlook  :  as  to  wealth,  332  ;  as  to  numbers,  328; 
as  10  additions  from  high  castes,  328  ;  Chapter 
XXIX — see  Contents  ;  359-361,384,385,  386. 

Overwork  among  missionaries  :  its  necessity  and 
results,  363,  369. 

Owls,  ills.,  173,  361. 

O.xen  ploughing,  ills.,  144. 

Oxford  Brotherhood  :  their  field,  97  ;  their  mode 
of  living,  205  ;   their  failure,  215. 

Oxus  river,  or  Amu  Darya,  19. 

Pacific  routes  to  India,  17,  20. 

Padri,  common  title  of  a  minister  in  India,  233. 

Paejamas,  or  Pyjamas:  described,  no  ;  worn  by 

different  sects  and  sexes,  no,  121  ;  men's,  ills., 

342  ;   women's,  228,  342,  &c. 
Pagri  (turban)  :  described,   109  ;  ills.,  124,  342, 

&c. 
Pakka  (solid,  ripe),  76. 
Palms  :  ills.,  65,  74,  161,  238,  247. 
Palanquin:  described,   80:  travel  by,  54 ;  ills., 

135  ;  allusion,  187.    See  also  Doli  and  Khatola. 
Pamirs:  contested,  23. 
Panchayat  (local  ruling  committee)  :  derivation 

of  the   word,   271  ;     described  and    discussed, 

271  ;   takes  the  place    of  a  Session,  334,  335  ; 

allusion,  278. 
Pankhas,  or  Punkhas  :    used  by  Anglo-Indians, 

55,  78. 
Pantheism  of  India,  in,  114. 
Pantheon,  Hindu,  in,  360. 


Parasnath,  a  Jain  Saint,  113. 

Pardah,  or  Pardah-nashin  (that  is,  veiled) 
women  :  provision  for  their  medical  treatment, 
179;   an  instance,  231  ;  veil  described,  121. 

Parliament  :  its  relation  to  India,  28  ;  overruled, 

33,  39- 

Parrot,  ills. ,  88. 

Parsees  :  orginally  Persians,  107 ;  described, 
115;  dress,  120;  growing  slowly  in  numbers, 
352  ;  ills.,  115,  341. 

Pashtu  tongue  :  spoken  by  Afghans,  86. 

Paspas  :  described,  58. 

Pasrur  town  :  described,  182 ;  dispensary  there, 
182  ;  mela  near  it,  160;  in  Mughal  days,  104. 

Pasrur  Civil  District  :  inquirer  from,  203  ;  ex- 
orcist of,  251  ;  a  Christian  woman's  devotion, 
252. 

Pasrur  Mission  District :  Christians  there,  241 ; 
progress  of  the  gospel  in,  386. 

Pastors  ;  as  evangelists,  195  ;  relations  to  local 
mission  agencies,  271. 

Pathankot  town  :  nearest  station  to  Dharmsala, 
50 ;  its  doli  and  tonga  service,  54 ;  its  roads, 
75;  its  railway,  76;  its  bookshop,  157,  184. 

Pathankot  Mission  District:  progress  of  the 
gospel  there,  241,  386. 

Pathans  :  described,  107 ;  contrasted  with  Hin- 
dus, 123  ;  ills.,  26. 

Patiala :  a  native  state,  occupied  by  the  R.  P. 
Mission,  99. 

Patriarchal  style  of  living  :  adopted  by  the  na- 
tives of  India  generally,  123;  impossible  for 
Christian  ministers,  319  ;  its  advantages,  123. 

Patriotic  feeling  :  of  natives,  a  power,  359  ;  of 
missionaries,  not  quenched,  367. 

Patronage  necessary  to  financial  support,  327. 

Patton,  J.  G.,  D.  D.  :  his  interesting  style,  366.; 

Fattu  clothing  :  described,  56. 

Paul  :  place  of  his  shipwreck,  13;  an  inspired 
missionary,  375  ;  his  mode  of  life,  206  ;  his 
preaching  in  the  school  of  Tyrannus,  167. 

Paul  Kiwal  Singh's  portrait,  342. 

Pcirce,  Miss  Mary  H.,  her  visit  to  India,  64. 

Peninsular  and  Oriental  (P.  &  O.)  Line  of 
Steamers,  n. 

Penjdeh  :  incident  there,  25. 

Pennsylvania:  compared  with  the  Punjab,  96; 
and  U.  P.  Mission,  103;  allusion,  17. 

Pensions  :  given  to  English  officials,  29,  62  ;  not 
to  missionaries,  62,  62- 

People  of  the  Punjab  :  Chapter  XII.  See  A'a- 
iives  of  India. 

Perim  :  on  the  road  to  India,  15. 

Ptijury,  common  in  India,  125. 

Perkins,  Rev.  H  E.  :  once  a  Commissioner, 
196:  his  conversion  of  a  lawyer,  196;  his 
Bible  revision  work,  291. 

Persecution  in  India,  especially  in  U.  P.  field  : 
generally  described.  Chapter  XXII — see  Sylla- 
bus ;  frequent,  251;  by  Hindus,  229,  233,246, 
&c.;  by  Moslems,  201,246;  less  among  low 
castes,  246,  but  exhibited,  nevertheless,  234; 
by  women,  175,  234;  by  British  Rule,  34,  38, 
218;  trickery  employed,  236;  instances.  Chapter 
y^y^, passim,  239  ;  fatal  instances  rare,  236  ;  a 
hindrance  to  progress,  275.  See  also  Hin- 
drances and  Draivbacks. 

Persia  :  relation  to  Russia,  24  ;  railways  across, 

17,   20. 

Persian  character  In  writing,  268,  270 ;  why  used 

in  India,  270. 
Persian  Gulf:  railway  to,  20. 
Persian  tongue  :  popular   in   the  East,  85  ;  easy 

to  learn,  88 ;  studied  by  missionaries,  86. 
Persians:  represented  in  India  by  Parsees,  107, 

115;  their  contests  in  the  Punjab,  27. 


TOPICAL   INDEX 


405 


Personal,  private   efforts  of  Christians:  a  great 

means  of  evangelism,  195,  196. 
Peshawar:    terminus   of  the  railway,  76;    occu- 
pied by  the  C.  M.  S.,  98. 
Pesth  :  on  Constantinople  route,  18. 
Peter:  an  inspired  missionary,  375. 
Peter,  Second,  i  :  5-7,  quoted,  382. 
Peter  the  Great  s  ambition,  24. 
Petrovsk,  on  the  Caspian  Sea,  19,  20. 
Philadelphia,  a  sailing  point,  9,  12. 
Phillips,  Dr.,  his  powers  of  oratory,  366. 
Philosophy  of  Hindus   regarding  the  male  and 

the  female  principles.   126. 
rhulkaries  of  Sialkot,  or  cloth  ornamented  with 

flower  work,  106. 
Pice,  one-fourth  of  an  anna,  84. 
Pictures,  an  attraction  in  bazar  work.  156. 
Piety  of  missionaries  :  circumstances  favorable 

to  its  growth,  374-378  :  and  the  contrary,  368- 

374  ;  summing  up,  378. 
Piety  of   Native  Christians   discussed.  Chapter 

XXII— see  Syllabus. 
Pig-sticking  in  India,  ills.,  204. 
Pilau,  described,  58. 
Pillars  of  Hercules  passed,  13. 
Pind  Dadan  Khan,   occupied  by  the  C.  M.  S., 

loo,  loi  ;   near  the  Salt  Mines,  76. 
Pindori  :  mela  there,  160. 
Pipal  tree:  a  good  shade  tree,  152  ;  worshiped, 

112. 
Piran  Ditta's  baptism,  234. 
Pir  Lakh  Datta  :  mela  in  honor  of,  160. 
Piyara's  bapti».m,  233. 
Plains  of  the  Punjab,  40,  98. 
Plates,  brass,  for  eating  from,  ills.,  288. 
Platter,  Mary  A.,  M.D.,  at  Sialkot,  182. 
Ploughs,  ills,,  144. 

Plutschau,  Henry  :  reaches  India,  94. 
Plymouth  Brethren  among   the  Anglo-Indians, 

64  ;    in  the  Punjab,  99  ;    their  intrusion,  275, 

358- 

Poetry  of  India,  Lyric  :   described,  304-306. 

Police  of  India  :  their  number,  30 ;  useful  at 
times  in  mission  difficulties,  127,  128,  132  ;  at- 
titude towards  bazar  preaching,  154,  156,  157; 
picture  of  two,  235. 

Policy  of  India  Missions:  some  questionable 
features,  138,  139,  319-223,  291,  292,  323.  356- 
358,  &c.  ;  has  it  been  wrong?  313,314;  does 
it  hinder  liberality  ?  319,  320  ;  to  be  improved, 
330 ;  hinders  sometimes  the  growth  of  the 
native  ministry,  340 ;  regarding  ministerial 
education,  291,  292. 

Politeness  :  a  characteristic  of  the  India  people, 
122. 

Polyandry,  legalized  by  Hinduism,  125. 

Polygamy,  in  India,  125  ;  its  relation  to  baptism, 
222,  223. 

Polytheism  of  India,  in,  114. 

Pomelos  (shaddock),  57. 

Pompeii :  shops  of,  157. 

Poona  :  its  Mahars,  245, 

Poor  and  despised  first  reached  by  the  gospel, 
167.  243-246,  355,  356,  357- 

Poor-houses  :  none  in  India,  123. 

Popery  produces  superstition,  169.  See  also  Ro- 
man Catholics. 

Population  of  India  :  census,  no;  increase,  352  ; 
causes  of  increase,  44.     See  also  Statistics. 

Porcupine,  ills. ,  332. 

Port  Ibrahim,  at  Suez,  14. 

Port  Said,  on  the  way  to  India,  13,  18. 

Porus  fisjhting  Alexander.  103. 

Post  Office.     See  Postal  Service. 

Postal  Service  of  India  ;  described,  82-84  ;  mail 
carriers,  82 ;    Postal  Union,  82,  83 ;    rates  of 


Postal  Service  of  India — Continued. 

postage,  83  ;  curious  features,  83  ;  post-office 
saving  banks,  84;  of  special  use  and  pleasure 
to  missionaries,  35,  63,  273. 

Postal  Union      See  Postal  Service  above. 

Poti.  on  northern  route,  20. 

Poverty  :  of  the  natives  of  India,  T09,  no,  123, 
263  ;  of  Christian  converts,  167,  243-246,  320- 
324,  331.  355>  356,  357:  ''s  remedies,  324-332; 
connection  between  poverty  and  mission  suc- 
cess, 207,  208,  243-246.  See  also  Natiz>es,  Con- 
verts, Christians,  &c. 

Praise,  in  worship  of  Indian  U.  P.  Church,  de- 
scribed, 265,  303;   in  bazar  preaching,  156. 

Prakriti,  in  Hinduism,  126. 

Prayer  :  of  Punjabi  churches,  described,  265, 
266 ;  for  missionaries,  desired,  375,  376  ;  omit- 
ted often  in  bazar  preaching,  156,  157. 

Prayer  Meetings  :  their  good  influence,  195. 

Prayers  of  Moslems:  how  observed,  116,  151; 
attitudes,  ills.,  117;  ablutions  before,  122. 

Preaching:  in  bazars  and  at  melas,  see  .fiazar, 
Mela  and  Mahalla ;  at  home,  150;  to  the 
heathen  generally,  370 ;  in  Punjabi  congrega- 
tions, 265;  in  a  village,  ills.,  194  ;  in  hospitals, 
179  ;  in  schools,  172  ;  in  zenanas,  177-179. 

Prema's  persecution,  235- 

Pre-millenarianism  :  its  effect  on  missions,  223. 

Preparation  for  missionary  work.  See  Mission- 
aries and  Training. 

Preparations  for  conversion,  149. 

Presbyterial  system,  or  Presbyterianism  :  in  U. 
P.  Mission,  129-131;  favorable  to  Christian 
7nelas,  274 ;  inconsistent  with  autocratic 
methods,  138,  139,  273,  or  control  by  a  Mis- 
sionary Association,  346,  or  general  lack  of 
local  organizations,  333,  334;  how  to  be  made 
more  popular,  346. 

Presbyterian  Alliance.     See  Alliance. 

Presbyterian  chaplains,  36. 

Presbyterian  Mission,  American.  See  Ameri- 
can Presbyterian  Mission. 

Presbyterians  in  India :  various  societies  and 
their  fields,  97;  their  comparative  progress  as 
a  family,  384,  385  ;  their  superiority  in  educa- 
tional work,  165,  384  ;  their  effort  to  secure  a 
union,  91,  92.  See  also  under  the  different 
churches. 

Presbyteries  of  U.  P.  Church  in  India  :  their 
names  and  organization,  336  ;  their  constitution 
and  powers,  130,  131  :  allusions,  273,  274.  See 
also  Ecclesiastical  Courts,  Church,  U,  P.,  in 
India  and  Sialkot  Presbytery . 

Presidencies  in  India  :  30.  See  also  Madras 
and  Bombay. 

Press:  of  Sialkot  (or  U.  P.)  Mission,  185;  of 
Ludhiana  Mission,  306;  at  Lucknow,  308 ;  at 
Secundra,  308  ;  at  Mirzapur,  300.  308. 

Primary  Schools  or  departments  in  India;  two 
grades.  Upper  and  Lower,  164;  in  U.  P.  Mis- 
sion villages,  267-270,  145,  170;  in  Central, 
270,  278:  in  Institute,  278,  281.  282,  284;  in 
Girls'  Boarding  School,  288;  in  High  Schools, 
see  High  Schools :  ills.,  184,  228. 

Private  Study :  scheme  of,  for  native  workers, 
described,  298,  299. 

Probation,  future  :  doctrine  of,  injurious  to  mis- 
sions, 223. 

Promises  and  grace  of  God  :  a  great  support  in 
mission  work,  370,  374. 

Prophet:  one  who  was  false,  201;  Muhammad 
claimed  to  be,  115. 

Proselytism  :  among  Missions,  275  ;  evils  of,  95, 
96,  275,  358  ;  to  and  from  Islam,  352,  353. 

Prostration  in  prayer  :  by  Christians,  265 ;  by 
Muhammadans,  ills.,  117. 


406 


TOPICAL   INDEX 


Protestant  Brotherhoods  :  in  India,  205,  206 ; 
how  they  hve,  205  ;  not  remarkably  successful, 
215. 

Protestant  Church.     See  Church. 

Protestant  Missions  in  India  :  compared  with 
Roman  Catholics,  214,  215.  See  also  Mis- 
sions in  India. 

Protestantism:  against  fakirism,  210;  of  nine- 
teenth century,  described,  380. 

Protestants  of  India.  See  Christians,  Converts, 
and  Missions  in  India. 

Proverbs  11  :  25  quoted,  377. 

Providential  helps  to  work  among  the  oppressed 
classes,  246-248. 

Pryur,  General :  conversion  of  his  servants,  150. 

Psalm  126  :  6  quoted,  78. 

Psalms  19  and  22  :  Punjabi  bhajans,  200  and  305. 

Psalms  :  their  translation  into  Urdu  and  western 
meter,  265,  303  ;  translation  into  Punjabi  and 
Oriental  meter,  or  bhajans.,  265,  304 ;  use  in 
church  service,  265  ;  in  bazar  preaching,  156; 
in    zenana    work,    177,    178;    specimens,    200, 

305. 

Public  morals,  or  wrongs,  of  India:  33,  38,  39, 
218,  219. 

Publication,  U.  P.  Board  of:  its  donation  of 
books,  289. 

Publication  Committee  of  Sialkot  Presbytery : 
its  history  and  work,  185,  336,  337. 

Publications,  for  missions,  in  India  :  92,  93,  300- 
309  ;  by  U.  P.  Mission,  185,  302-308. 

Pulmonary  disease  in  the  Punjab,  46. 

Pundits,  or  Hindu  learned  men,  152,  319. 

Punjab  Bible  Society  :  its  constitution,  90,  91  ; 
action  regarding  a  revision  of  the  Urdu  Bible, 
291 ;  assumes  preparation  of  a  Persian  Punjab 
translation,  302. 

Punjab  Literature :  86,  184,  265,  302,  304,  306, 
308,  309  ;  specimens,  200,  305. 

Punjab  Missionary  conference  of  1862-3  •  on^  of 
its  resolutions,  loi. 

Punjab  Province:  described,  96-98:  its  name 
defined,  96  :  area,  96;  plains,  40,  98  ;  physical 
features,  98  ;  its  anne.xation  by  the  British,  98, 
279;  Civil  Service,  29  ;  officers,  30-34;  Lieut. - 
Governors,  30-34  ;  political  divisions,  98  ;  na- 
tive states,  98 ;  population,  46,  96,  98 ;  the 
people  described,  Chapter  XI — see  Contents  ; 
its  languages.  Chapter  IX;  its  educational 
system,  163-165  ;  its  missions,  97-103,  241,  351  ; 
statistics  of  its  missions,  241,  384,  385  ;  medical 
missionary  statistics,  179;  S.  Schools,  385; 
journey  to,  described,  15,  16  ;  a  highway  for 
invading  forces,  27  ;  to  be  studied  by  Punjab 
missionaries,  141  ;  allusions,  11,  21,  321.  See 
also  Punjahies ,  &c. 

Punjab  Religious  Book  Society  ;  its  constitution, 
90,  91  ;  publications,  308 ;  sales,  309 ;  deposi- 
tory in  Lahore,  308. 

Punj;ib  school  system  :  163-165. 

Punjab  University  :  when  established,  164  ;  its 
examination,  121. 

Punjabi  tongue  :  derived  from  the  Sanskrit,  85  ; 
in  Gurmukhi  character,  86,  302  ;  in  Persian 
character,  265;  in  Roman,  200;  commonly 
used,  86  ;  dear  to  the  people,  85,  304  ;  study  of 
it  not  encouraged  by  the  government  except 
in  zamindari  schools,  268;  learned  and  used 
by  Punjab  missionaries,  86;  translations  of  the 
Bible  into,  265,  302  ;  literature  in,  see  Punjabi 
Literature  :  allusions,  87,  88,  370. 

Punjabies,  or  the  Punjab  people  :  to  be  studied 
by  missionaries,  141  ;  general  description, 
Chapter  XII — see  Syllabus.  See  A'a/zVi'J  and 
Orientals — also  Hindus,  Muhammadans ,  &c. 

Punkhas,  or  Punkahs  :  their  use,  58,  78. 


Purdah.     See  Pardah. 

Purity  Mission,  97. 

Purohits,  Hindu  family  priests,  321. 

Purusha  :  in  Hindu  philosophy,  126. 

QiLA  SuBA  Singh  in  Pasrur  tahsil,  235. 

Quack  doctors  in  India,  47,  48. 

Qualifications  for  missionary  work,  299,  378-380. 

Quarter  Centennial  Fund,  or  Q.  C.  Fund  :  de- 
fined, 71  ;  help  received  from,  71 ;  contribu- 
tions to,  in  India,  315. 

Queen  of  England:  a  hindrance  to  Russia,  24; 
mentioned,  301. 

Queenstown,  in  view,  12. 

Quetta,  on  northern  route,  20. 

Quinton's  assassination,  22. 

Rahim  Bakhsh's  growth  in  grace,  255. 

Rahmat  Masih  translates  gospels  into  Persian 
Punjabi,  302. 

Railways  in  Europe,  11,  12,  13. 

Railways  in  India:  their  history,  76;  accom- 
modations, 77,  78;  stations,  78;  fares,  77; 
compared  with  European  and  American,  15, 
'6,  78;  government  connection  with,  35,  76; 
His.,  238. 

Rains  :  damage  done  by,  42. 

Rainy  season  :  described,  40-43  ;  its  effects  on 
the  temper,  368,  369  ;  unfavorable  for  itinera- 
tion, 186,  193. 

Rajah  :  his  mode  of  living,  204 ;  will  salute  a 
fakir,  206. 

Rajput  dynasties  of  the  Punjab,  98. 

Rajputs  :  not  many  become  Christians,  245. 

Ramazan  fast,  117. 

Ram  Chandra  Bose  :  quoted  on  fakirism,  213. 

Ram  Das,  a  Sikh^a>-«,  112. 

Ramnagar  :  connection  with  the  Sikhs,  104,  105  ; 
and  the  Muhammadans,  104  ;  baptism  at,  234. 

Ranjit  Singh  :  the  great  Punjab  ruler,  113  ;  born 
at  Gujranwala,  104;  some  of  his  ashes  there, 
104. 

Rasulnagar  :  now  Ramnagar,  104.  See  Ram- 
nagar. 

Ravi :  one  of  the  "  five  rivers,"  98  ;  same  as  the 
Hydraotes,  103 ;  picturesque  at  Madhopur, 
105  ;  connection  with  the  mutiny,  105  ;  Chris- 
tian movement  near  it,  161  ;  crossed  by  a 
ferry,  75,  76. 

Rawal  Pindi  Cantonment :  the  largest  British 
garrison  in  tVie  world,  31,  105. 

Rawal  Pindi  City  :  described,  102  ;  formerly  a 
capital  called  Gajipur,  103;  snow  at,  40; 
cholera  at,  46  ;  road  from,  to  Murree,  75  ;  con- 
nection with  British  Rule,  31,  105  ;  great  dur- 
bar, 105;  its  girls'  schools,  ills.,  228;  high 
school,  172:  ills.,!-)!:  college,  172,173,297; 
ills.,  171  ;  church,  102,  ills.,  345;  allusion,  84. 

Rawal  Pindi  District:  described,  102;  occu- 
pied by  Am.  Presbyterians,  98,  102  ;  trans- 
ferred to  U.  P.  Mission,  102;  allusion,  242. 

Raya  tahsil :  its  mission  history,  105. 

Reading  rooms.     See  Book-shops. 

Real  Estate  :  hard  to  get  in  India,  143,  225,226; 
cases  cited,  225-227 ;  manner  of  purchasing, 
143,  272,  273  ;  hagq  i-shu/a,  143,  225. 

Recreations  of  missionaries,  63-66,  137. 

Red  Sea  :  journey  through,  14,  15  ;   allusion,  22. 

Reflex  influence  of  missions:  presented.  Chapter 
XXX — see  Contents;  on  missionaries,  362-380; 
on  the  Home  Church,  208,  380-382. 

Reformed  (Dutch)  Mission,  97. 

Reformed    Presbyterian  Mission  in  the  Punjab, 

97,  99- 
Reforms  :  in  higher  school  work  suggested,  170; 
in  mission  policy  advocated,  Chapters  XXVI— 


TOPICAL   INDEX 


407 


Reforms—  Continued. 

XXVIII — see  Contents;  in  Hinduism,  112-115, 

355- 
Registry  oi  births  and  deaths,  46. 
Relics  in  the  Punjab,  105. 
Religions,  false  :  contain  some  truth,  199  ;  their 

truths  10  be  utilized  in  mission  work,  199 ;  no 

compromise  with,  allowable,  356. 
Religions    of  India  and  especially  the  Punjab  : 

described,  1 10-122.  ?)^c  aX^o  Hindus ,  Muham- 

madans,  &c. 
Religious  Book  Societies  of  India  :  their  work, 

92,   308,   309  ;   of  Punjab,  308,  309.       See   also 

Bible  Societies  and  Press. 
Remedies  :  of  the  poverty  of  the  native  cluirch, 

324-332  ;  of  her  immaturity.  Chapter  XXVIII 

— see  Contents. 
Repairs  of  houses,  144. 

Reports  :  of  workers,  monthly,  273,  298  ;  of  mis- 
sionaries, yearly,  136,  137. 
Republican  institutions:  to  whom  adapted.  368. 
Residents,   of    Indian    Government,    in    Native 

States,  28. 
Re=t  houses:   government  for  travelers,  81,  82, 

192;  mission,  for  Christian  laborers,  191,  264. 
Results:  of  evangelism,  Chapters  XXI,  XXII — ■ 

see  Contents — also,  350,  351-356,  384,  385,  386; 

of  the   lower  training  of  Christians,  276  ;    of 

higher  training,  294,  295,  350,  and  passim. 
Revivals  :  few  in  India,  369  ;  not  the  gateway  of 

conversion  at  present,  249,  250. 
Rewards:  desired  sometimes  by  converts,  201- 

203;  not  promised  by  missionaries,  201,  202; 

expected  by  missionaries,  377,  378. 
Rewari,  on  the  road  to  the  Punjab,  16. 
Rice  fields  of  Kangra,  51. 
Rig  Veda:  mentions  the  Punjab  rivers,  103. 
Ripon,  Lord  :  his  character  and  viceroyalty,  31, 

Risalu,  the  Punjab  hero,  103. 

Rituals  :  not  suitable  for  evangelism,  198,  215. 

Roads    in    India  :     described,    74-76 ;     metaled 
(kankar),  74,  75;  on  the  way  to  hill  station 
75  ;   mud,   or   common   earth,    75,   76 ;     village 
paths,  76,  186,  187;  travel  on,  described,    1" 
187.     See  Rail-ways. 

Roberts,  Sir  Frederick  :  Commander-in-chief,  30, 

Robson,  Dr.  :  his  opinion  of  native  converts 
249. 

Roman  Catholic:  superstition,  169;  friars  or 
fakirs,  206;  chaplains  in  India,  36;  mission 
aries,  how  they  live,  205,  210,  211.  See  Ro 
man  Catholics. 

Roman  Catholics  :  their  formalism,  198  ;  their  in- 
trusion and  opposition,  220,228,  275  ;  how  they 
sometimes  proselyte,  353 ;  their  agricultural 
settlement.  325  ;  their  comparative  success 
in  missions,  198,  215  ;  inter-mission  committee 
against,  90 ;  allusions,  119,  122.  See  Roman 
Catholic. 

Roman  character  in  Urdu  :  described  and  dis- 
cussed, 268-270  ;  easy  to  learn,  267,  270 ;  ad- 
vocated by  missionaries,  270;  its  literature 
pure,  270  ;  specimens  named  and  enumerated, 
303,  307,  308,  309  ;  Roman  Punjabi  specimens, 
200,  305. 

Roman  Empire :  its  conversion  compared  with 
that  of  India,  360. 

Romanath  Chowdry,  quoted,  205. 

Romans  i  :  21-32:  a  picture  of  Indian  society, 
125- 

Rookwood,  a  bungalow  on  Dharmkot,  50. 

Rotas  ruins,  105. 

Routes  to  India:  Chapter  I;  ordinary,  9-16; 
western,  17;  Arabian,  17;  Euphrates,  17,  18; 
Transcaspian,  18-20  ;  Siberian,  20  ;  Map  of,  10. 


Rubettino  Line  of  Steamers,  11. 

Rules  of  Parliamentary  and  Ecclesiastical  Order 
in  Urdu,  308. 

Rupee :  changes  of  value  during  14  years,  73. 
See  Anna. 

Rura  of  Chimma  :  his  persecution,  235,  236;  his, 
and  his  wife's  portrait,  342. 

Russia :  her  aggressive  policy,  18,  19,  23-25 ; 
progress  in  Asia,  23-25  ;  designs  upon  India, 
23-27 ;  guards  against,  by  British  Govern- 
ment, 25-27;  perseverance,  23,  24;  good  re- 
sults of  her  progress,  24 ;  jealousy  of  Great 
Britain  and  China,  24,  25;  fears  of  invading 
India,  25,  27  ;  effect  on  missionaries,  25-27  ; 
rights  in  Corea,  23. 

Ruth's  baptism  and  persecution,  231,  232,  her 
marriage  to  Barkat  Masih,  232. 

Sabbath  :  Indian  law  for,  abolished,  38  ;  a  holi- 
day wiih  Hindus  and  Moslems,  228  ;  not  well 
established  among  village  Christians,  275  ;  no 
true  Sabbath  among  the  heathen,  275,  370,371  ; 
how  kept  by  Aryans,  114. 

S.  S.  Convention  at  Lahore,  90. 

S.  S.  gifts  for  Raw.il  Pindi,  71. 

S.  S.  International  Series  of  Lessons,  92,  267. 

S.  S.  Journal :  a  help,  92. 

S.  S.  Union  of  India,  90,  267  ;  Auxiliary  Punjab 
Branch  formed  at  Lahore,  go,  267. 

S.  Schools:  of  U  P.  field,  described,  266,  267; 
contain  Christians  and  non-Christians,  189, 
267  ;  a  means  of  Evangelism,  195  ;  statistics 
for  India  according  to  Provinces  and  Ecclesias- 
tical families,  385  ;  statistics  for  the  Punjab, 
266,  385  ;  for  U.  P.  field,  266,  386. 

Sabzkot  :  school  and  church  building,  226. 

Sacraments  :  how  administered  in  India,  266. 

Sacred  books ,  reverence  of  Indian  people  for, 
156;  of  Hindus,  35,  103,  114,  115,  355;  of 
Sikhs,  112:  of  Aryans,  114;  of  Muhamma- 
dans,  115.  117,  122,  123. 

Sacred  Cattle ;  reverenced  by  Hindus,  112,126, 
and  Sikhs,  112  ;  ills.,  129. 

Sacrifices:  of  Hindus,  in;  human,  almost 
completely  suppressed  by  the  Government,  35, 
127,  but  occasionally  reported,  354. 

Sacrifices :  of  missionaries,  48,  49,  58-61,  212, 
362-365,  368-374;  of  native  laborers,  213;  of 
native  Christians,  251.  See  also  Missionaries , 
Ministers ,  Workers  and  Persecution. 

Sadowal  :  a  service  there,  232  ;  its  improvement, 

^54- 

Sadr,  or  chief,  bazar,  154. 

Sahib:  defined,  372  ;  applied  to  missionaries, 
150,  151,  186,  372  ;  how  a  sahib  travels,  82,  186; 
ladies  called  Sahzbas,  150,  177,  186. 

Said  :  on  the  road  to  India,  13. 

St.  James'  Hall  :  its  methods,  167. 

St.  Paul's  Bay,  in  sight,  13. 

St.  Stephen's  Review,  on  Anglo-Indian  morals, 
124. 

Saints  :  reverenced  by  Moslems,  116  ;  by  Jains, 
113. 

Saivas,  or  worshipers  of  Siva  (Shiva) :  their  dis- 
tinctive tika,  120. 

Sakti  principle  worshiped,  125. 

Salary:  of  Anglo-Indian  officials,  30,  62;  of 
Government  chaplains,  62  ;  of  missionaries,  61- 
63,  205  :  of  native  ministers,  65,  66,  315-319  : 
of  Christian  teachers,  316  ;  not  desirable  to  re- 
duce missionaries'  salary,  212,  215,  216,  377. 

Salt:  comes  from  Jhelum,  57,  105;  mines  near 
Find  Dadan  Khan,  of  that  District,  76. 

Salt  Range  of  Jhelum,  40,  57. 

Salvation:  what  is  it?  148,  149;  means  of,  149, 
150. 


408 


TOPICAL    INDEX 


Salvation  Army  :  its  fieUli;,  97  ;  its  intrusive  ten- 
dencies, 358;  its  methods,  167;  persecuted, 
38  ;  how  its  members  live,  205,  216 ;  whence  it 
draws  its  converts,  245. 

Samarkand:  ca]Uured,  23  :  reached  by  rail,  19. 

Sandwich  Islands'  Missions  :  their  maturity,  311; 
independence  of  the  churches,  312,  313;  Train- 
ing School,  313 ;    aid  received   from   abroad, 

313- 

San  Francisco,  route  via,  17. 

Sanitaria  of  India.     See  Health  Resorts. 

Sanitarj'  conditions  of  India  missionaries.  See 
Chapter  V,  also  362-365. 

Sans  Mai  :  the  mythical  guru  of  the  Sansies, 
118. 

Sansies  :  a  low  caste,  118  ;  their  traditional  ^»>-«, 
118;  religion,  118;  by  caste  employment, 
thieves,  127. 

Sanskrit:  tongue,  a  mother  language,  85,  and 
studied  by  missionaries,  86  ;  texts,  used  in 
medical  practice,  47  ;  mottoes,  in  houses, 
176. 

Santals  :  conversions  from,  245. 

Saraswati      See  Dayananda. 

Sarrakhs  :  on  Transcaspian  route,  20. 

Satan  :  busy  in  the  heat,  368  ;  a  foreign  tongue, 
his  ally,  370. 

Sati-Chaunra,  or  the  Suttee  Monument,  iils.,  65. 

"Saviour's  Claim,"  translated,  185. 

Sayyids  :  at  hospitals,  181  :  favored  in  getting 
government  employment,  325,  326. 

Scales,  His.,  124. 

Scavenger  birds  and  animals,  263  ;  ills.,  hyena, 
263. 

Schaff,  Philip,  D.  D.  :  on  monasticism,  210  ;  his 
"  Ante-Nicene  Church  "  translated,  307. 

Scheme  :  Lady  DufTerin's,  for  medical  help,  72, 
179  ;  mission,  for  instructing  workers.  See 
Private  Study. 

Scholarships  given  students,  280,  339. 

Schools  :  as  Evangelizing  agencies,  see  Chap- 
ter XVI — Contents;  help  to  undermine  caste, 
267,  3-4  ;  to  train  Christians,  264,  267-270,  278; 
U.  P.  enumerated,  267,  278  ;  U.  P.  described, 
170-173, 182,  264,  267-270,  Chapter  XXIV,  294- 
298;  drawbacks  to,  267-270;  inspection,  163, 
271,  272  ;  grants-in-aid,  72,  73  ;  statistics,  163, 
165,  167,  175,  385,  386.  See  also  Lower  Pri- 
mary, Upper  Primary,  Central,  Middle, 
High  Schools,  Christian  Training  Institute, 
Girls'  Boarding  ScJiool,  Summer  School, 
Heatlien  Assistants,  Educational  System, 
Tlieological  Seminary,  Statistics,  Dra^vbac/es, 
&c. 

Schwartz  :  the  apostle  of  India,  94. 

Scinde,  Punjab  and  Delhi  Railway,  76. 

Scorpions,  troublesome,  and  sometimes  deadly, 
45 ;  ills.,  69. 

Scotch,  or  Church  of  Scotland,  Mission  :  enters 
India,  97,  98  ;  fields,  97  ;  Punjab  Branch  de- 
scribed, 98,  99;  boundary  adjusted,  loi  ;  class 
chiefly  affected,  331  ;  its  agricultural  settle- 
ment, 274,  325  :  co-operation  with,  90. 

Scotch  Episcopal  Mission,  97. 

Scotland  ;  what  Dr.  Duff  said  to  its  people,  162  ; 
compared  with  the  U.  P.  field,  102. 

Scotland,  Church  of ;  its  India  Missions,  see 
Scotch  Mission :  its  Ladies'  Association,  279, 
284;  Girls'  Orphanage,  279,  284. 

Scott,  Rev.  G.  W.  :  once  a  member  of  the  U.  P. 
Mission,  131. 

Scott,  Rev.  T.  L.  ;  publishes  S.  S.  Lessons, 
267 ;  superintends  C.  T.  I.,  282  ;  building 
work,  144. 

Scott,  Mrs.  T.  L.  :  experience  with  Gulam 
Bibi,  232. 


Scottgarh  :  not  a  success,  174. 

Scythian  invasions  ol  the  Punjab,  27. 

Sea  Chair,  ills.,  372. 

Searching  the  jungle,  ills.,  161. 

Seasons  :  hot  and  rainy,  described,  40-43,  368. 

Second  Class  :  on  railways,  77  ;  on  ships,  11. 

Secret  Converts,  238,  239. 

Secret  fraternities  of  fakirs,  204,  205. 

Secretary  of  State  for  India,  28. 

Secular  work  of  missionaries  :  Chapter  XIV, 
372,  373  ;  study  of  language.  Chapter  IX,  140; 
study  of  country  and  people,  141  ;  financial 
business,  141-144;  purchase  of  real  estate,  143  ; 
building,  143,  144  ;  secular  teaching  and  school 
management,  144,  145,  272,  273  ;  medical  work, 
145,146,179-183;  miscellaneous,  146  ;  no  good 
remedy,  146,  147;  effect  on  spiritual  life,  147, 
372,  373  ;  effect  on  evangelistic  work,  220, 
221. 

Secundra  Orphanage  :  its  publications,  308. 

Self-governing  power:  discussed.  Chapter 
XXIII — see  Contents  ;  a  great  end  of  mis- 
sions, 148,  149,  261.  262,  310,  311,  358. 

Self-support,  in  a  financial  sense :  discussed. 
Chapter  XXVI — see  Contents;  its  rarity  in 
mission  fields,  311,  312,  315-316;  examples  of, 
311  ;  its  present  impossibility  in  U.  P.  field, 
315-324  ;  duty  to  hasten  it,  and  in  what  way, 
328-331  ;  aided  by  giving  ecclesiastical  courts 
more  power,  344  ;  how  helped  by  melas,  274  ; 
how  far  to  be  a  basis  of  self-governing  power, 
348. 

Semipelatinsk,  in  Siberia,  20. 

Separation  of  families  :  the  great  cross  of  mis- 
sion life,  60,  61. 

5t'// explained,  235. 

Serais,  or  native  inns,  described,  81,  152  ;  used 
in  mission  work,  152,  192  ;   ills.,  182. 

Serampur  translations  of  the  Bible,  300,  302. 

Seifdom  of  Chuhra  agriculturists,  243,  244. 

Sermons  in  India,  described,  156,  157,  265,  198, 

199.  37°- 

Serpent  Charmers,  tils.,  211. 

Servants  in  India:  kept  by  missionaries,  59,  60, 
372;  their  faults,  59,  60;  why  kept,  59,  60; 
their  cost,  60  ;  a  sphere  for  evangelism,  150, 151  ; 
cook,  60  ;  viilitar,  60  ;  gardener,  60  ;  bihishti, 
190  ;  groom,  227  ;  cJiaukidar,  189,  255;  ayah, 
150;    are   Christian   servants   worthless?   252, 

253- 

Sessions,  Church  :  described,  130,  136,  333;  rela- 
tion to panchayats,  271  ;  relation  to  'I'he  Mis- 
sion, 299  ;  training  schools,  through  co-opera- 
tion, 299  ;  defective  number  in  U.  P.  Mission, 
333~33^>  337  ■'  allusion,  273. 

Settlements,  agricultural  ;  discussed,  324,  327. 
See  Villages.  Christian. 

Seventy  Disciples  :  an  example  for  us,  or  not, 
206,  210. 

Shady  Side;  described,  50,  56;  ills.,  49. 

Shnh  Hamadan  Mosque,  ills.,  36. 

Shahbaz,  Rev.  I.  D.  :  his  liberality,  315;  his 
work  as  a  poet,  303,  304. 

Shahpur  District,  described,  100. 

Shahpur  village,  of  Kangra  valley,  75. 

Shal,  Raja  :  founded  Sialkot,  103. 

Shamianic,  preaching  tent,  described,  188. 

Shana  :  his  liberality,  255. 

Shanars  :  a  low  caste,  245. 

Shastras,  Hindu  ;  sacred  books,  35,  355. 

Shawls  of  Kashmir:  original  pattern  in  the 
windings  of  the  Jheliim,  ills.,  86. 

Shckhopura  :  its  ruins,  104. 

Sher  Singh  :  his  battle  at  Ramnagar,  104,  105. 

Shere  Ali,  of  .Afghanistan,  25. 

Shiahs  :  found  in  U.  P.  field,  121. 


TOPICAL    INDEX 


409 


Shigrams  :  described,  So;  found  at  Bombay,  15. 

Shikasta,  or  broken  hand-writing,  26S. 

Ships,  His.,  13,  14,  17,  183,  242,  372,  382. 

Shiva.     See  Shhi. 

Shk'alas,  defined,  iii. 

Shonie,  J.  C,  iM.  A.,  in  favor  of  fakirism,  323. 

Shrines:  of  Sitala,  iii  ;  of  Sans  Mai,  118;  at 
Kotla,  353. 

Shurman,  Rev.  J.  X.  :  Bible  translator,  300. 

Sialkot  cantonment,  pronounced  i^a.n-ioon-mcnX. 
in  India:  31,  105;  telegr.iph,  84;  executive 
engineer,  280. 

Sialkot  Church  :  self-sustaining  for  some  years, 
315  ;  supported  partly  by  missionaries,  312  ;  its 
liberality,  253  ;  gift  to.  the  Chinese  Relief 
Fund,  315. 

Sialkot  City  :  founded  by  Raja  Shal,  103  ;  gar- 
risoned by  Muhammad  Ghori,  104;  connected 
with  Sikh  rule,  104;  Sikhs  now  there,  121; 
connected  with  the  mutiny,  105;  rain  at,  42; 
lieat  at,  41  ;  railway  to,  76;  shrine  of  Baba 
Nanak,  104;  high-spired  temple,  104;  Baisakhi 
festival,  i6j  ;  special  manufictures,  106;  non- 
Christians  of,  237  :  U.  P.  Church — see  Sial- 
kot Church  ;  bazar  preaching,  90,  282 ;  bazar 
chapel,  228 ;  book  shop,  157,  184 ;  summer 
school  and  conference,  90;  zenana  work  af- 
fected by  Amritsar  debate,  199  ;  conversion  of 
a  Moslem  lady,  231  ;  persecution,  225,  226, 
228,  231 ;  municipal  grants-in-aid,  181  ;  Scotch 
Mission  there  also,  90 ;  their  settlement  for 
Christians,  274,  325;  their  orphanage,  284  ;  U. 
P.  institutions  at — see  Theological  Seminary, 
Girls'  Boarding  School,  Christian  Training 
Institute,  High  School,  Women's  Memorial 
Hospital,  Dispensary,  Girls'  Schools,  &c.  ; 
allusions,  170,  182,  226,  227,  232,  278,  279,  285, 
289,  294,  325. 

Sialkot  Civil  IDistrict  :  population,  46  ;  density  of 
population,  103;  death  rate  in  1890,  46;  castes 
in,  116  ;  melas  there,  160  ;  special  manufactures, 
106  ;  Gazetteer  consulted,  116  ;  its  deputy  com- 
missioner mentioned,  226,  228,  279  ;  grants-in- 
aid  from  District  Committee,  iSi  :  Missions 
laboring  there,  98,  99,  loi  ;  Mission  boundaries 
within,  adjusted,  loi,  102  ;  success  of  the  gos- 
pel there,  241,  242.  See  also  Raya,  Pasrur, 
Zafariual ,  Sialkot  City,  Map.  &c. 

Sialkot  Mission.  See  United  Presbyterian 
Mission. 

Sialkot  Mission  District:  limits — see  Map; 
institutions — see  Sialkot  City;  Zafarvval  and 
Marali  formerly  in  it,  242  ;  success  of  gospel 
in,  241,  242,  386. 

Sialkot  Presbytery  :  its  formation,  336 ;  consti- 
tution, 130;  powers,  130,  136;  controlled  the 
C.  T.  I.,  278:  manages  the  Theo.  Seminary, 
288;  its  committees,  315,  336,337.  See  also 
Presbyteries  and   Ecclesiastical  Courts. 

Sialkot  Theological  Seminary.  See  Theological 
Seminary. 

Siani,  21. 

Siberia,  conquered,  23. 

Siberian  railway  and  route,  20,  24. 

Sibi,  route  via,  19. 

Sicily  passed,  13. 

Sighting  Land,  ills.,  13. 

Sikhs:  history  and  character,  112,  113;  number, 
no;  increasing,  352;  percentage  in  Punjab, 
no;  favorite  tongue,  302  ;  sacred  book,  112; 
among  Chuhras,  118;  Mazhabi,  113;  pe- 
cidiarities,  120  ;  non-use  of  tobacco,  113  ;  cos- 
tume, 113;  fakirs,  204  ;  caste.  116;  conquered, 
98;  loyalty,  113;  connection  with  Dhulip 
Singh,  22,  23 ;  connection  with  U.  P.  field, 
104,   105,  121  ;    tank  at   Eminabad,    104 ;  not 


Sikhs — Continued. 

highly   educated,    113,    121  ;     in   schools,    195, 

267  ;  in  hospitals,  181  ;  their  fair,  i6o. 
Sikkim  expedition,  22. 
Silver  agitation  in  U.  S.  Congress,  73. 
Silversmith,  ills.,  325. 
Simla:  summer  capital  of  India,  50;  fashionable, 

54  ;   Mission  there,  99  ;  ills.,  283  ;  allusion,  53. 
Sinaitic  group  of  mountains,  visible,  14. 
Sind  Peshin  Railway,  19. 
Sind  Sagar  Railway,  76,  joo. 
Sine  tittilo,  without  charge,  130. 
Singh,  lion  :  origin  of  the  title,  112,  113. 
Singing  in  worship,  265. 
Sitala,  goddess  of  smallpox,  in. 
Sites  for  mission  buildings.     See  Real  Estate. 
Siva,    or    Shiva:    one   of    the    Tri-murli,    in; 

temples  of,  in. 
Siwalik  Range,  51. 
Skepticism.     See  under  Infidelity. 
Skobel«ff  conquers  the  Turkomans,  23. 
Slavery  abolished  by  Russia,  24. 
Sliding  scale  of  church  aid,  314. 
Smallpox  goddess,  in  ;  smallpox  in  the  Punjab, 

45-47- 

Smith,  George,  LL.  D.  :  his  life  of  Henry  Mar- 
tyn,  301. 

Smith's  "  Short  History  of  Missions,"  339. 

Snakes:  death  from,  44,  45;  experiences  with, 
45  ;  worshiped,  112  ;   ills.,  45,  211,  379. 

Snow  :  at  hill  station,  43  ;  at  Rawal  Pindi,  40. 

Social  Conditions  of  mission  life  in  India  :  de- 
scribed. Chapter  VI,  51,  52,  137,  176-178,  263, 
367,  376;  effect  on  evangelism,  151,  152;  effect 
on  missionaries,  57,  63-68,  137,  367,  372,376; 
effect  on  native  Christians,  66,  67,  274,  342-344. 
See  Recreations,  Missionaries  and  Christians. 

Social  Intercourse :  between  missionaries  and 
native  Christians,  66,  67 ;  between  mission- 
aries and  Anglo-Indians,  57,  63-65,  137,  367, 
372,376;  between  Anglo-Indians  and  natives, 
66-68;  a  means  of  evangelism,  151,  152. 

Social  Evil  in  India :  regulated  by  the  Govern- 
i"snt,  33,  38,  39  ;  very  great,  124-126,  219,  252. 
See  Public  Morals. 

Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel,  or  S. 
P.  G. :  history  and  progress,  312  ;  enters  India, 
94,  95  ;  fields,  97  ;  publications,  308. 

Somali  divers  at  Aden.  15. 

Sophia:  on  Constantinople  route,  18. 

Sounaghar,  or  Sonaghar  :  ills.,  in. 

Southern  Cross  seen,  15. 

Spain,  passed,  13. 

Special  objects  :  gifts  for,  69,  70. 

Sf'ectator ,  of  London,  quoted,  352. 

Spinning-wheel,  263. 

Spirit,  Holy  :  proofs  of  his  working  in  U.  P. 
Mission,  251-260. 

Spirituality:  how  affected  by  mission  work,  147, 
368-378 — see  Piety;  an  aid  to  evangelism, 
196,  197. 

Spiti  :  Buddhists  of,  114. 

Spleen,  in  the  Punjab,  46. 

Squirrels,  ills.,  250. 

Straddha,  or  worships  of  ancestors,  112. 

Srinagar  :  described,  53;   ills.,  36. 

Staff  of  Administration,  29.      See  British  Rule. 

Stage.     See  Dak gari,  Tonga,  &c. 

Stages  of  missionarj'  work,  148,  149,  161. 

Stag's  Head,  ills.,  338. 

States.     See  Native  States. 

Statesman,  on  the  Outlook,  360. 

Statesmanship,  needed  in  missions.  313,  378. 

"Statistical  Tables"  of  Protestant  Missions  in 
India,  referred  to,  or  quoted,  241,  339,  351,  384, 


410 


TOPICAL   INDEX 


Statistics :  their  value,  239,  240. 
Statistics  of  C.  M.  S.,  312. 

Statistics  of  India  :  area,  95  ;  Army,  30  ;  British 
territory,  28  ;  Chaplains,  36  ;  Cholera,  46,  54  ; 
Civil  Service,  29,  30;  Colleges,  121,  122,  163; 
death-rate  from  wild  animals  and  disease,  44- 
46,  48,  128  ;  density  of  population,  109  ;  dis- 
eases, 46  ;  ecclesiastical  establishment,  36  ;  fa- 
kirs, 206 ;  female  mortality,  128 ;  English- 
speaking  natives,  86  ;  fevers,  46  ;  heat,  41  ; 
length  of  service  of  missionaries,  385  ;  low- 
caste  people,  355,356;  male  mortality,  128; 
mortality.  44-46,  48,  128;  Native  States,  28, 
98;  Police,  30;  population,  95,  109;  popula- 
tion by  sects,  110,  119,  120  ;  postal  service,  82  ; 
Punjab,  96;  railways,  76;  rainfall,  42,  43; 
rainy  season,  42;  schools  generally,  122,163, 
^67,  175,  385  ;  religions,  non-Christian,  no, 
352  ;  telegraphs,  84  ;  University  Examinations, 
121. 

Statistics  of  India  Missions:  General,  95,  241, 
351,  352,  384,  385  ;  of  Punjab  Missions  and 
Christians,  119,  120,  241,  384,  385;  of  the 
Viirious  Provinces,  351,  352,  384,  385  ;  of  the 
various  ecclesiastical  families,  384,  385;  of  the 
C.  M.  S.,  312  ;  of  the  M.  E.  ^lissions,  241  ;  of 
Protestants  and  R.  Catholics,  215  ;  medical 
missions,  179  ;  vernacular  literature,  308,  309; 
longevity  of  missionaries,  364,  365,  385. 

Statistics  of  Madagascar  Mission,  311. 

Statistics  of  U.  P.  field  and  Mission  :  General, 
240-243,  316,  320,  322,  333,  334,  386  ;  area,  102, 
103;  castes  of  Sialkot,  116;  Christian  Train- 
ing Institute,  284;  classes,  or  religions,  121; 
educated  native  Christians,  294,  295 ;  Girls' 
Boarding  School,  284,  28S  ;  liberality,  331,  332; 
ministry,  338,  339  ;  Mission  Districts,  241,  242, 
386 ;  mortality  among  missionaries,  48  ;  pop- 
ulation. 103,  121,  240,  241  ;  Primary  Schools, 
267;  Rawal  Pindi  and  Hazara,  102;  S.' 
Schools,  266;  Schools,  267,  386. 

Steamers  :  first  and  second  classes  on,  compared, 
II. 

Stewart,  Archibald,  Esq.:  his  legacy  to  missions, 
70;  use  in  building  the  C.  T.  I.,  71,  279;  rest 
available  for  other  similar  purposes,  71,  289. 

Stewart,  Sir  Donald:  Commander-in-  chief,  30. 

Stewart,  Robert,  the  writer  of  this  book  :  visit 
to  India,  237:  superintendent  C.  T.  I.,  278, 
282;  principal  Theo.  Seminary,  289;  experi- 
ence with  an  enquirer,  203  ;  translation  work, 
185,  306,  307;  building  work,  144,  279,  280; 
farewell  address  10,280;  his  article  in  the  /.  E. 
Revievi,  quoted  from,  290,  291;  experience 
v.'ith  snakes,  45. 

Stewart,  Mrs.  Robert:  work  in  the  Institute, 
282. 

Stipend  System  :  Oriental  or  not,  206,  208. 

Stou?hton's  "  Religion  in  England,"  215. 

Stratford  on  Avon,  13. 

Streams,  sometimes  dangerous,  75,  76. 

Street  preaching  in  India,  154-158.  See  Bazar 
Preaching. 

Streets  of  villages,  263. 

Strife  hurtful  to  mission  work,  95,  96,  219-223, 
358,  373.     See  Conflicts. 

Studies  of  missionaries,  86,   140,  141,  365,  366, 

37°- 
Sub-superintendents  of  missions :  who  they  are, 

and  what  they  do,  271,  272. 
Suez  Canal  :    when  opened,  9  ;    going  through, 

13,  14- 
Suez  City  :  en  route,  14,  17. 
Suez,  Gulf  of  :  described,  14. 
Suez  Isthmus:  crossed,  9,  13,  14. 
Sugar  :  made  at  Sujanpur,  106. 


Sujanpur  :  noted  for  sugars,  106. 

Sultan  :  Victoria's  ally,  24. 

Summer  School  for  workers,  described,  298  ;  co- 
operation in,  90. 

Sun,  or  sola,  hats  :  needed  in  India,  15,  41 ;  ills., 
141,  161. 

Sun ni  sect  of  Muhammadans,  121. 

Sunny  Side  at  Dharmsala :  described,  50; 
double-storied,  56;  ills.,  49. 

Superintendents  of  mission  work :  how  ap- 
pointed, 137  ;  natives  eligible,  347  ;  of  schools, 
282,  286  ;  of  missions — what  they  do,  134,  136, 
138,  272,  273.     See  Sub-superintendents . 

Superstitions  of  India  people,  in,  112,  116. 

Surat :  on  road  to  the  Punjab,  16 ;  Parsees  there, 
115  ;   rainfall  at,  42. 

Surgeons  in  India,  35,  47,  48.     See  Doctors. 

Surgical  operations  :  enumerated,  182. 

Suspicion,  habit  of:  engendered  among  the 
heathen,  371. 

Sutlej  :  one  of  the  "  five  rivers,"  96;  crossed  by 
Presbyterians,  98. 

Suttee,  or  widow-burning :  made  unlawful,  35 ; 
inclination  to,  354.     See  Sati-Chaunra. 

Swan  :  ills.,  260. 

Swedish  Mission,  97. 

Sweepers:  See  Chuhras  ;  ills.,  sweeper  children, 
124. 

Sweetmeat  vender,  tils.,  124. 

Swift,  Rev.  E.  P.:  once  in  "  The  Mission,"  131; 
his  debate  with  Saraswati,  201 ;  quoted,  233. 

Swine:  abominated  by  Sikhs  as  well  as  Moslems, 
112. 

Sympathy :    its   drain   on   the   nervous   system, 

363- 

Synod  of  the  Punjab  :  organized,  130,  288,  336; 
what  Presbyteries  in  it,  336;  its  Permanent 
Committees.  337;  controls  the  Theo.  Semi- 
nary, 288,  289  ;  defects,  337,  349  ;  allusion,  273. 
See  also  Ecclesiastical  Cow  ts. 

Syria  :  its  Arabic,  87 ;  Moslem  architecture  in, 
116. 

Syrian  Christians,  of  India  :  alluded  to,  122. 

Tahsil :  explained,  96,  100  ;  tahsil  town,  or  head 

centre,  182. 
Tailor  bird  and  nest,  ills.,  93. 
Taki:   now  Asarur.  103. 
Takkas:  founded  Taxila  and  Asarur,  103. 
Talang,  a  peak  near  Dharmsala,  51. 
Talents  needed  by  a  missionary,  378-380. 
"  Talim  ul  Iman,"  a  useful  book,  307. 
Tamasha,  defined,  192. 
Tarun,  a  mountain  near  Dharmsala,  51. 
Tashkend  reached  by  railway,  19. 
Tatti:    of  a  town,  described,  109 ;  Dogri,  near 

Gujranwala,  242. 
Tawi,  near  Jamil,  76. 
Taxila  :  described,  103  ;  its  ruins,  105. 
Taylor,    Bishop  :    his  self-sacrificing    methods, 

206. 
Taylor,  Canon  :    on  native  Christians,  249  ;   on 

the  growth  of  Islam,  352,  353. 
Taylor,  Rev.  W.,  M.  D.,  of  Japan :  article  on 

ill-health,  364. 
Tea  plantations  of  Kangra,  51. 
Teachers  :    in    village  schools,  267,  268;    in  all 

schools,    many    non-Christian,    146,    168,   170, 

172,  268,  286,  296,  297 ;  some  Christian,  318,  386  ; 

wages  of  such,  267,  268,  316,  318. 
Teaching  Christianity  in  villages,  264;  in  schools, 

163,  172,  281,  286,  289,  290  ;   in  zenanas,  176- 

179. 
Teaching  ;  secular  work  of,  44,  45. 
Teeth-cleaning   among    natives    of   India,    120, 

122. 


TOPICAL    INDEX 


411 


Teetotalism  of  American  Missions,  222. 

Tej  Singh,  Kaju,  104. 

Telegraphs  of  India  :  described,  84  ;  ills.,  238. 

Telephones  in  India,  84. 

Telugus,  alluded  to,  245. 

Temper  of  missionaries :  affected  by  climate 
and  disease,  368,  369. 

Temperance :  of  natives,  122 ;  a  condition  of 
church  membership,  222. 

Temperature  of  the  Punjab,  40,  41,  368;  at 
Dharmkot,  54. 

Temples,  Hindu:  common,  in;  of  Siva,  in; 
of  the  Sikhs,  112;  new  ones  erected,  353; 
ills.,  17,  III,  124,  141,  159,  214. 

Tea  commandments  :  should  candidates  for  bap- 
tism know  them?  219,  220. 

Tennessee  :  compared  with  U.  P.  field,  103. 

Tents:  with  their  furniture,  described,  178,  1S8  ; 
ills.,  186. 

Territorial  division  of  mission  field  desirable,  95, 
96. 

Testimony :  of  the  Indian  Government  regard- 
ing missions,  36,  37;  of  Sir  Charles  Elliott,  36, 
37  ;  of  various  persons  regarding  native  Chris- 
tians, 249,254-260;  regarding  churches,  254; 
regarding  the  work  generally,  256;  official,  of 
the  Mission,  257. 

Testimony-bearing  as  an  evangelistic  agency, 
197. 

Thackwell,  Rev.  Reese  :  at  Rawal  Pindi,  102. 

Thakur  Das,  Rev.  G.  L.  :  his  style  of  living, 
66;  his  ministerial  grade,  339;  Theo.  profes- 
sor, 288,  289,  347  ;  sup't  missions,  348;  trans- 
lates Book  of  Discipline,  308;  publications  in 
general,  185  ;  leaves  the  Mission,  but  may  re- 
turn, 315. 

Thana  to  Bombay :  first  railway  in  India,  76. 

Thebaw's  overthrow,  21. 

Theological  Seminaries  :  fruits  not  confined  to 
the  Missions  sustaining  them,  90. 

Theological  Seminary,  Sialkot:  origin,  288;  lo- 
cation, 289  ;  control,  288  ;  support,  288  ;  build- 
ing, 289  :  library,  289  ;  professors,  288,  289, 
347;  aim,  289;  standard  of  admission,  292; 
curriculum  of  study,  289,  290  ;  text  books 
scarce,  292  ;  some  books  mentioned,  307;  com- 
pared with  American  Seminaries,  290;  Greek 
and  Hebrew  should  be  taught,  289-291  ;  stu- 
dents from  C.  T.  I.,  284;  why  so  few,  339, 
340  ;  drawbacks  to,  292  ;  results,  293  ;  allusion, 
278. 

Theological  students,  portraits,  342. 

Theological  works  in  Urdu,  300  to  309,  especially 

307- 

Thibet,  separated  by  a  barrier  from  India,  21. 

Third  class  railway  accommodations  :  in  Eng- 
land, 13  ;  in  India,  77. 

Thomas,  John  :  a  surgeon,  and  pioneer  mission- 
ary, 94. 

Thomas,  M.  A.  :  position  in  the  Institute,  282. 

Thumb  mirror,  ills.,  174. 

Tiflis,  on  northern  route,  18,  19. 

Tiger  :  ills.,  39,  74,  238. 

Tigris  river,  17,  20. 

Tika  :  described,  120 ;  on  Vaishnavas  and  Sai- 
vas,  120. 

Times,  of  London,  quoted,  36. 

Timothy,  First  :  3  :  2,  referred  to,  222. 

Titarna,  a  peak  near  Dharmsala,  51. 

Tithe  system  of  giving  in  India  :  discussed.  320- 
322  ;  followed  by  missionaries,  71,  72,  377. 

Tobacco,  not  used  by  Sikhs  and  others,  113,  122. 

Tombs  and  saints  reverenced  by  Moslems,  116. 

Tomsk  founded,  23. 

Tonga,  described,  80 ;  at  Pathankot,  54,  75 ; 
used  in  carrying  mails,  82 ;  allusion,  78. 


Topi  and  helmet,  ills.,  141,  161. 
Toral  peak,  near  Dharmsala,  51. 
Torches,  ills.,  i6i. 

Tours  of  missionaries,  185-195,  272,  273. 
Towers  of  Silence,  at  Bombay,  15. 
Towns  and    cities  :    described,   io8,   109  ;    some- 
times of  different  religions,  109. 
Tracts  used  in  mission  work,  306. 
Tradition   of  the   Chuhras,   about   Gugga,   118, 

119  ;  about  Balisha,  246,  247. 
Training    Christians:    lower.    Chapter    XXIII 

— see  Contents  ;      higher,     Chapters     XXIV, 

XXV — see   Contents  ;   by    missionaries,    191  ; 

what  training  includes,  262  ;  its  necessity,  277; 

training  high  castes,  262  :  low  castes,  262,  &c. ; 

results,  276,  349;   crowding  out  evangelization, 

195,  220,  221.  See  Chiistians.  Con7>etts.  &c. 
Training  elders:  271,  335  and  Chapter  XXVIII. 
Training   missionaries  :   at   home,   299  ;    in   the 

field.   Chapter   IX,    136,    140,    141.     See    also 

Missionaries  and  Quulifications . 
Training   native   ministry :    XXIV,   XXV   and 

XXVIII— see  Contents.     See  also   Ministry,. 

Theological    Seminary,     and     Ecclesiastical 

Courts. 
Tramway,  or  street  railway,  in   Bombay,  ills.., 

375- 
Tranquebar,  entered  by  the  Danes,  94. 
Transcaspian  railway  :  18-20. 
Trai'slation  of  various  books,  185,  300-309.     See 

also  Literature  and  Bible  Translation. 
Transmigration  of  souls  :    believed  by  Hindus, 

III  ;  by  Sikhs,  112  ;  by  Aryans,  114;  rejected 

by  Chamars,  118;  allusion,  353. 
Travel :  a  great  means  of  intelligence,  365. 
Travel  in  India  :  15,  16,  Chapter  VIII,  i86,  187; 

outfit,  81.  82.     See  Itinerating  Work. 
Travelers  in  the  Punjab  :  few,  64,  65. 
Treasurers,  general  and  sub- :    their  work,  136, 

137.  141-144- 
Trees  :  worship  of,  112;  ills.,  248. 
Tri-murti,  or  Hindu  trinity,  in. 
Trip  to  India  :  described,  12-17;  ''^  cost,  12. 
Truth  :  its  self-evidencing  power,  198,  199  ;  better 

than  controversy,  198-201.     See  Controversy. 
Tum-tums  :  described,  81,  186,  187;  ills.,  186. 
Turbans:  when  worn,  264;  ills.,  108,   117,  155, 

159,  342.     See  Pagri. 
Turkestan  conquered,  23. 
Turkish  Government  :  its  obstructiveness,  18. 
Turkomans  conquered,  23, 

Turnpikes,  or  metaled  roads,  in  U.  P.  field,  75. 
Tyndale's  English  Translation,  302. 
Types  of  Punjabies,  ills.,  124. 

Uganda  :  Rev.  R.  P.  Ashe,  of,  312. 

Ullmann,  Rev.  J.  F.,  at  Rawal  Pindi,  102. 

Uinr  Bakhsh,  overseer,  280. 

Under  Full  Sail,  ills.,  242. 

Underworkers.  See  Workers  and  Village 
Underiuorkers . 

Union  in  mission  work,  89-93;  Presbyterian,  91, 
92  ;  in  S.  S.  movements,  267.  See  Co-opera- 
tion, S.  S.  Union,  &c. 

United  Presbyterian  Board.  See  Board  of 
Foreign  Missions. 

U.  P.  Church  in  America  :  her  formation,  71,  99  ; 
Q.  C.  Fund,  71  ;  her  attitude  towards  native 
Church  of  India,  317  ;  regarded  by  the  latter 
as  a  loving  mother,  346  ;  her  growing  liber- 
ality, 69  ;  gratitude  of  non-Chrisiians  towards, 
237 ;  length  of  the  ministry  of  her  clergymen, 
364  ;  number  of  elders  in  her  sessions,  333. 
See  Home  Church. 

U.  P.  Church  in  India.  See  Church,  V.  P.,  in 
India. 


412 


TOPICAL    INDEX 


U.  p.  General  Assembly.  See  General  As- 
sembly. 

U.  P.  Mission  in  India,  as  an  organized  body  : 
called  often  "  The  Sialkot  Mission,"  or  "  The 
Mission,"  131  ;  general  description,  129-139  ; 
its  organization,  131  ;  changes  of  membership, 
131,  132;  admission  of  women,  131,  132  ;  Man- 
ual, 132  ;  relations  to  the  Board  of  F.  M.,  132  ; 
Annual  Meeting,  133,  134,  136,137;  business 
by  Circular,  134;  powers,  132-139;  holds 
money  power,  299,  300;  appointments,  137, 
138;  autocratic  methods,  138,  139,  273;  ref- 
lations to  ecclesiastic.il  couits,  134-136,  299, 
300;  relation  to  native  ministry  and  workers, 
138,  139,  347  ;  policy  regarding  fakirism,  208- 
217;  policy  legarding  educational  evangelism, 
170-173  ;  policy  regarding  Church  self-support, 
314,  316,  347;  takes  charge  of  the  Institute, 
278  ;  its  relation  to  the  Theo.  Seminary,  288  ; 
opposes  prayers  of  memorialists,  347;  but 
mjkes  concessions  to  native  brethren,  347  ;  an 
anomaly,  139.  346,  347  ;  should  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible be  abolished,  346,  347;  allusion,  344; 
its  mode  of  reporting  communicants,  333,  334. 
See  next  two  objects — also  Church,  U.  P.,  in 
India^  Policy,  Ministers  and  Missionaries. 

U.  P.  Mission  in  India — in  a  broad  sense:  its 
controlling  powers,  Chapter  XIII — see  also  the 
precedmg  subject;  its  field,  99-106;  people, 
Chapter  XII;  foreign  l.iborers — see  Mission- 
aries: native  laborers — see  Workers  and 
Ministers:  methods — s>z&  Evangelistic  Work 
and  Trainitig :  machinery  complicated  and 
autocratic,  273;  obstructions,  Chapter  XX; 
success.  Chapters  XXI,  XXII,  337,  349,  350  ; 
secular  work,  Chapter  XIV;  statistics,  .see 
Statistics:  deficient  in  Church  organization 
and  ecclesiastical  maturity.  Chapters  XXVI 
to  XXVIII  ;  especially,  314,  316,  337,  349, 
350;  contributions,  315,  316;  number  of 
families,  320,  322;  educated  people,  294-297; 
baptized  adults,  333  ;  institutions,  170,  182, 
278.     See  also  subordinate  subjects. 

U.  P.  Mission  field:  described.  96-106;  addi- 
tions of  Jhang  and  Bhera,  99,  100;  boundaries 
settled,  roi,  102;  addition  of  Rawal  Pindi, 
loi,  102  ;  present  size  and  population,  102, 
103  ;  points  of  historical  interest,  103-105  ; 
ruins,  105;  geographic  features,  105,  106; 
manufacturers,  106;  map,  see  Frontispiece; 
people.  Chapter  XII.     See  Statistics,  &c. 

U.  P.  Mission  (Scotch),  97. 

United  States  of  America  :  climate,  362  ;  min- 
isterial longevity,  364 ;  compared  with  other 
countries,  367,  368  :  effects  of  silver  legislation 
by  Congress,  73  ;   President's  salary,  30. 

Universities  of  India  :  named,  163,  164;  their 
controlling  power,  164,  165,  166  ;  examinations 
of  1891.  121,  122;  statistics  of  examinations 
in  Mission  Schools,  384. 

Unmarried  lady  missionaries  :  not  celibates,  212  ; 
relation  to  "The  Mission,"  131,  132  ;  relation 
to  local  Churches,  130.  See  also  Lady  Mis- 
sionaries. 

Upper  Primary  Grade  :  defined,  164  ;  in  our 
higher  schools  for  Christians,  278,  288  ;  a 
standard  proposed  for  theologues,  292. 

Urdu  tongue:  described,  85,  86,  268-270;  by 
whom  used  most,  85,  268;  taught  in  schools, 
85,  268  ;  studied  by  missionaries,  86;  alphabet, 
268;  characters  used,  268,  269:  moderately 
hard,  88,  140,  268,  269  ;  Christian  literature 
in,  184,  185,  300-309;  commentaries  in,  needed, 
306 ;  allusion,  370. 

Usury  in  India  :  common,  37,  38,  84,  127;  not 
allowed  to  Muhammadans,  123.     See  Banya. 


Uzun  Ada  :  reached  by  railway,  19;  route  p/a,  20. 

Vaccination  :  its  use  and  dangers  of,  46,  47. 

Vaishnavas  :  described,  113  ;  their  tika,  120. 

Vaishnavism  ;  described,  in. 

Vancouver,  on  western  route  to  India,  17. 

Vedas  :  Hindu  sacred  books,  114,  117  ;  respected 
by  Aryans,  114;  the  professed  basis  of  re- 
ligious reform,  114,  355,  356. 

Vegetables  of  the  Punjab,  also  imported,  57. 

Veiled  ladies.     See  Pardah  and  Pardah-Nishin. 

Verandas  :  common  in  houses  of  India,  55,  56,  66, 
176;  ills.,  144,  278.  368. 

Vermin  and  other  nui>ances,  58,  59  ;  in  villages 
and  schools,  286,  287. 

"Via  Media"  mode  of  living:  described,  205; 
undesirable  for  missionaries,  208-217. 

Viceroys  :  their  appointment,  powers,  assistants 
and  salary,  28-30  ;  their  style  of  living,  204  ; 
an  account  of  four,  31-33  ;  the  grave  of  one, 
52  ;  allusion  to,  21. 

Victoria,  Queen  :  a  hindrance  to  the  Czar,  24. 

Village  Chiistian  schools:  described,  145,  170, 
267-270  ;  village  school,  ills.,  184.  See  Pri- 
mary Schools. 

Village  life  in  India,  108,  109.  243,  263. 

Village  missionary  work  :  190,  191,  262-274  ;  ills., 
186,  194. 

Village  pond  :  ills.,  184.     See  Chhappars. 

Village  underworker's  duties,  201,  202,  262-267. 

Villages  of  India  :  described,  108,  109,  263  ;  their 
officers,  i8q,  190;  Christian  work  in  them,  190, 
191,  26.^-274,  and  its  success,  243  ;  number  in 
U.  P.  field  containing  Christians,  243,  316,  386. 

Villages,  Christian  :  their  value  and  success,  274, 
275.      See  Settlements. 

Violence  :  deaths  by,  44,  45. 

Vishnu,  one  of  the  Tri  murti,  111. 

Visits  paid  us  by  home  friends,  64,  65. 

Vladikavkaz,  on  northern  route.  18,  ig. 

Vladivostok,  on  the  Pacific,  20. 

Voluntary  work  by  native  Christians,  251,  253, 
254,  195,  196,  281,  2S2. 

Wadhawa's  wife's  Christian  feeling,  255. 

Wages  of  Punjabies,  109. 

Wahabies,  a  Sloslem  sect,  121. 

Waldenses  mentioned.  206. 

Wards,  or  Mahallas,  of  cities,  158,  159. 

Warren's  "  Hebrew  Grammar,"  307. 

Washermen,  Native,  ills.,  214. 

Watchman.     See  Chaukidar  ^.tiA  189. 

Water-carrier.     See  Bihishti. 

Water  fowl,  wild,  187. 

Wazirabad  :  turnpike  to,  75;  railway  from,  76  ; 
occupied  by  the  Scotch  Mission,  99,  101. 

Wealth  of  converts  in  India.  See  Converts  and 
Christians. 

Weaver  Birds  and  Nest,  ills.,  350. 

Weavers  of  Zafarwal,  325. 

Weitbrecht's  "  Urdu  Christian  Literature,"  308. 

Wells  for  irrigation  :  ills.,  9,  153. 

Welsh  Calvinistic  Methodists,  97. 

Wesleyan  Chaplains,  36. 

Wesleyan  Missionary  Society  ;  entered  India,  94, 
97  ;  fields,  97. 

West,  Miss  :  her  literary  style,  367. 

Westminster  Assembly's  Shorter  Catechism, 
translated,  306. 

Westward  Bound,  ills.,  382. 

Wherry's  translation  of  Moffit's  History,  307. 

White  Ants:  their  depredations,  59 ;  their  hills, 
ills.,  59. 

White  man's  presence  :  as  an  influence  in  evan- 
gelism, 156. 

White,  Maria,  M.  D.  :  medical  work,  181-183. 


TOPICAL    INDEX 


413 


White,  Sir  George,  Commander-in-chief  of  the 
Indian  Army,  30. 

Whitney,  Prof.  W.  D.,  on  the  Urdu  tongue,  85. 

Widows,  Hindu  :  cannot  remarry,  125  ;  reform 
regarding,  355. 

Wilson,  Miss  C.  E.  :  her  girls'  schools,  172  ;  in 
a  zenana,  227 ;  her  biographical  skrlch  of 
native  Christians,  257-260. 

Wilson,  Rev.  James,  Bible  translator,  300. 

Windings  of  the  Jhelum,  ills.,  86. 

Wine  used  in  tlie  Lord's  Supper,  266. 

Witness,  Indian  :  a  help  to  us,  92. 

Wolves  :  heard  in  itinerating,  191  ;    ills.,  225. 

Women  generally:  how  viewed  by  natives  of 
India,  125,  126,  287  ;  as  viewed  by  Hindus  and 
Hinduism,  125,  126  ;  as  viewed  by  Moslems, 
68,  125,  126;  publicly  discoursing,  150,  178 
179,  265. 

Women  of  India  :  their  ignorance,  illiteracy  and 
seclusion,  174,  175,  287  ;  their  influence  in  the 
zenana,  175  ;  bigotry,  48,  112  ;  standing  among 
Hindus,  125,  126  :  among  Moslems,  68,  125, 
126;  have  few  avenues  of  business,  287  ;  early 
marriage,  175;  excluded  from  bazar  crowds, 
157:  importance  of  evangelizing  them,  174,  175  ; 
methods  of  doing  so.  Chapter  XVII,  150,  157, 
f59;  at  bazar  preaching,  157:  at  >nahalla 
preaching,  159 ;  harder  to  evangelize  them 
than  men,  243;  some  anxious  to  learn,  176, 
252  ;  their  clothing,  no,  121,  342,  &c.  ;  their 
jewelry,  ills.,  174,  228,  &c.  ;  habit  in  riding, 
187  ;  in  a  common  court,  ills.,  359  ;  ills.,  65, 
i53>  i55>  i77>  180,  228,  252,  &c.  See  also 
Hindus,  Muhaininadans,  Piinjabies,  &c. 

Women,  Christian,  of  India:  in  School,  ills., 
298;  eating,  ills.,  288;  clothing,  288,  298,  &c., 
accessible  to  male  workers,  272.  See  also 
Christiiins  and  Converts. 

Women,  missionary  :  See  Lady  Missionaries 
and  Missionaries. 

Women's  Board  :  help  from,  70,  71. 

Women's  Department,  C.  T.  I. :  described,  282; 
ills.,  298. 

Women's  Memorial  Hospital,  Sialkot :  its  erec- 
tion and  work,  182,  183;  helped  by  the  Govern- 
ment, 73;  getting  land  for  it,  226,  227. 

Women's  Missionary  Magazine,  quoted,  296. 

Women's  Missionary  Societies  in  U.  P.  Mission 
field  :  their  organization,  131  ;  their  number 
and  importance,  271  ;  Presbyterial,  131  ;  at 
Zafarwal,  252. 

Women's  Societies  in  India  :  their  S.  Schools, 
385.     See  Lady  Missionaries. 

Wood,  Sir  Charles  :  his  famous  school  despatch, 
163,  164. 

Work  in  Missions.  See  Alission  Work.  Village 
Missionary  Work.  Evangelistic  Work,  &c. 

Workers,  Native  Christian :  in  great  demand 
and  command  good  wages,  318,  319  ;  should 
be  trained  by  each  Mission  for  itself,  278  ;  how 
trained  in  the  U.  P.  field.  Chapters  XXIV, 
XXV  and  under  Training;  from  the  Insti- 
tute, 282  ;  their  selection  in  villages,  201,  202  ; 
their  style  of  living,  65,  66,  205,  263  ;  social 
customs,  66 ;  intercourse  with  missionaries, 
66,67;  direction  by  them,  67,  138,  139;  their 
special  work,  196,  202,  262,  &c. ;  the  help  they 


Workers,  Native  Christian — Continued. 
give,  146,  147,  195,  196,  254  ;  monthly  meet- 
ings of,  273;  imperfect,  220,  221,  275;  com- 
plained of  by  missionaries  and  charges  against 
missionaries,  297,  342-344  ;  ills.,  252,  278,  305, 
342.    See  also  under  Christians  and  Ministers. 

Worldliness  :  not  a  besetting  sin  of  missionaries, 
377- 

Worldly  influences  not  used  in  mission  work, 
although  charged  against  it,  201-203. 

Worldly  motives  :  sometimes  manifested  by  con- 
verts, 202,  203 ;  diminished,  some  say,  by 
fakirism,  207,  208. 

Worry  :  its  effect  on  the  nerves,  363 ;  much 
found  in  mission  work,  264  ;  in  home  fields 
also,  364  ;  effect  on  the  temper,  369. 

Worship  :  forms  and  exercises  of,  in  U.  P.  field, 
264-266. 

Yakub  Khan,  1^. 

Yarmak  begins  Russian  progress  in  Asia,  23. 

Yokahama,  on  Western  route  to  India,  17. 

J'oKz'and  Linga,  in. 

Youngson's  "Greek  Grammar,"  307. 

i'ug,  or  yug,  defined,  247. 

"  Zabur  aur  Git"  :  used  in  worship,  302. 

Zafarwal  :  btginning  of  work  there,  242 ; 
Christian  weavers  of,  325  ;  Brahman  convert 
of,  239;  its  W,  M.  S.,  252  :  Christian  village 
near  it,  274;  incident  in  1883,  161;  Piyara's 
baptism ,  233  ;  originally  in  the  Sialkot  Mission 
District,  242. 

Zafarwal  Mission  District:  its  extent — see  Map 
in  frontispiece;  number  of  Christians  there, 
241  ;  progress  made  and  statistics,  386  ;  referred 
to,  242. 

Zaildar :  defined,  226;  persecution  by  one  at 
Sabzkot,  226. 

Zamindars  (farmers)  :  opposed  to  low-castes 
becoming  Christians,  232,  233 ;  what  they  say 
against  Christianity,  233  ;  among  Christians, 
243.  244- 

Zamindari  schools  :  defined,  ?68  ;  established, 
•  65. 

Zeal  for  the  salvation  of  others  among  native 
Christians,  195,  196,  254. 

Zenana  :  meaning  of  the  word,  176;  described, 
176. 

Zenana  work:  discussed.  Chapter  XVII;  its 
importance,  174,  175,  328,  331  ;  appointments 
to,  137;  number  of  zenanas  open  to  mission- 
aries, 176  ;  methods  of  work,  176-178  ;  disad- 
vantages, 178;  obstructions,  219,  227-229; 
men  occasionally  met  with,  178;  affected  by 
Amir  Bibi's  baptism,  229  ;  affected  by  a  pub- 
lic debate,  199;  advantages,  178:  its  results, 
178:  some  zenana  women  anxious  to  learn, 
176,252:  varied  experiences,  177,  178;  speci- 
mens of,  227  ;  broader  sense  of  the  term  zenana 
tvork,  178,  179.  See  Women  and  Workers, 
Christian. 

Zenana  workers  among  Christians,  272,  273. 

Zhob  valley  war,  21. 

Ziegenbalg  arrives  in  India,  94. 

Zoroastriaiis  of  India — that  is,  Parsees.  See 
Parsees. 


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Life  and  work  in  India  ;  an  account  of 

Princeton  Theological  Semmary-Speer  Library 


1    1012  00043  6719 


